Top two seeds John Isner and Ernests Gulbis will continue their Nice campaigns during quarterfinal action on Thursday. Isner is facing Federico Delbonis and Gulbis is going up against Dmitry Tursunov.
(5) Dmitry Tursunov vs. (2) Ernests Gulbis
Gulbis and Tursunov will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they do battle in the quarterfinals of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur on Thursday afternoon. Tursunov leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but they have never faced each other on clay. They most recently met in the 2011 Wimbledon first round, with Tursunov prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(12), 7-6(1).
The Russian has been inconsistent this season after a stellar comeback performance in 2013, but he booked his spot in the last eight this week with routine, straight-set scalps of Alexandr Nedovyesov and Robin Haase. Gulbis got a first-round bye as the No. 2 seen then battled past Martin Klizan 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday. The 19th-ranked Latvian is 24-10 for the year, which features a title in Marseille and recent quarterfinal showings in Indian Wells and Madrid. After a racket-smash at the end of set one against Klizan, Gulbis showed good fight and mental strength to right the ship. More of the same should help him take care of business on a surface with which he has greater comfort than Tursunov.
Pick: Gulbis in 2
[polldaddy poll=8066262]
(1) John Isner vs. (7) Federico Delbonis
When Isner wins his opening match at a tournament, he generally makes a decent run. In fact, the 6’10” American has not yet won just a single match at any event this season. He has lost openers four times, but in the other five he has won at least twice. Highlights include a title in Auckland and a semifinal finish in Indian Wells. All of that is good news for Isner, who beat Jack Sock 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday following a first-round bye. The world No. 11 is a respectable 16-8 on the season despite a few physical problems.
Up next for Isner on Thursday is Delbonis, whom the top seed has never faced. Delbonis advanced to the quarterfinals with straight-set victories over Mikhail Kukushkin and Paul-Henri Mathieu. The 45th-ranked Argentine owns 13 ATP-level match wins this year and he captured a clay-court title in Sao Paulo. Delbonis has tons of experience on clay and his heavy topspin forehand works to great effect on the surface. Isner also does not like playing lefties, and he just lost to one (Jurgen Melzer) in straight sets in the Rome opening round.
Pick: Delbonis in 3
[polldaddy poll=8066264]
Tursunov might get under the skin of Gulbis but not enough to take a set
Gulbis in 2
Isner is not comfortable on clay – particularly European clay. Never has been and never will be. Have to admire the way he keeps on trying.
Delbonis in 2
Isner is not comfortable anywhere outside #GodsCountry.
Under estimated Tursunov. Or over-estimated Gulbis. Either way it looks like Ernie only just scraped through. Did anybody see the match?
Bad call on the Isner match too. It’s going to a decider.
Isner serving for the match: gets broken by Delbonis. now 5-6 and Isner serving to take it to a tie break. Have to love the genius who devised the scoring system!
But Delbonis scrapes through in the tie break in spite of his first serve dropping from 79% in the 1st set to a dismal 45% in the 3rd.
congratulations to me on these picks