Countrymen Alexander Zverev and Philipp Kohlschreiber are one round away from an all-German final in Munich. But they first have to get past difficult semifinal opponents in Dominic Thiem and Fabio Fognini, respectively.
(8) Alexander Zverev vs. (3) Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Zverev will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the BMW Open title match on Sunday. Zverev has never been to an ATP final, but it is safe to say he is playing by far the best tennis of his career right now. The 19-year-old German is 16-10 this season following victories in Munich over Malek Jaziri, Lukas Rosol, and David Goffin. His 2016 campaign also features a a semifinal performance in Montpellier and a fourth-round showing in Indian Wells.
Zverev just faced another player in the best form of his life (Goffin) and the case will be no different on Saturday against Thiem. The 22-year-old Austrian is tied for the 2016 ATP lead in match wins (28) with Novak Djokovic and he boasts titles in Buenos Aires and Acapulco. Currently inside the top-eight cut line in the race to London, Thiem booked a spot in his fifth semifinal of the season by defeating Santiago Giraldo and Ivan Dodig. Although clay is not bad surface for Zverev, it is an absolutely ideal one for Thiem. The world No. 15 will also benefit from a significant edge in experience at the latter, pressure-packed stages of tournaments.
Pick: Thiem in 3
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(4) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (5) Fabio Fognini
Fognini and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Saturday. Kohlschreiber is leading the head-to-head series 3-1, including 2-1 on clay. The 27th-ranked German prevailed 7-5, 6-2 on the red stuff in Hamburg, marking their first-ever meeting back in 2012. He also got the job done 7-6(0), 6-4 when the two veterans most recently faced each other last season in Kitzbuhel. Fognini’s lone victory came via a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 decision in a title match on the clay courts of Stuttgart three years ago.
Kohlschreiber has been his typically solid self in 2016, although such a description may be an understatement in regards to the past few months. Munich’s No. 4 seed is 14-5 in his last 19 matches following wins this week over Florian Mayer and Juan Martin Del Potro. This stretch also includes semifinal performances in Rotterdam and Barcelona. Fognini punched his ticket to the last four by beating Maximilian Marterer and Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets before holding off lucky loser Jozef Kovalik 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. The 30th-ranked Italian is just 8-6 on the year but is coming off a decent quarterfinal finish in Barcelona. Kohlschreiber has an edge in both current form and home-court advantage, so he should be able to build on his encouraging record against Fognini.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3
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