An all-unseeded semifinal in Nottingham pits Marcos Baghdatis against Denis Istomin on Saturday. Sam Querrey is the only seeded player still alive and he will battle Alexandr Dolgopolov for a place in the title match.
Marcos Baghdatis vs. Denis Istomin
Baghdatis and Istomin will be squaring off for the third time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in the semifinals of the AEGON Open on Friday. The head-to-head series is tied at one win apiece, with Baghdatis prevailing 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) at the 2010 Moscow event before Istomin cruised 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 during first-round action at last year’s Australian Open. They also faced each other at a 2009 Challenger tournament in Uzbekistan, where Baghdatis got the job done 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
Baghdatis had no trouble playing his part in setting up a relatively surprising semifinal showdown. The 59th-ranked Cypriot has not dropped a single set in Nottingham while getting past Victor Estrella Burgos, No. 1 seed David Ferrer, Alexander Zverev, and Simone Bolelli. Istomin cruised in similar fashion earlier in the week, disposing of Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, and Sergiy Stakhovsky. The 92nd-ranked Uzbek, who is suddenly finding some form in the wake of a prolonged slump, needed two hours and 18 minutes to outlast Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-7(8), 7-6(6) and he saved one match point in the process. Baghdatis is turning back the clock this week and will be more well-rested than his opponent, so he should have an edge.
Pick: Baghdatis in 3
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Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (12) Sam Querrey
Querrey and Dolgopolov will be meeting for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time in three years. All three of their previous encounters have come on hard courts and Dolgopolov leads the head-to-head series 2-1. The Ukrainian eased through matches in 2011 (Sydney) and 2012 (Washington, D.C.) before Querrey avenged the latter loss just a few weeks later by scoring a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(3) victory in Winston-Salem.
Both men are relatively accomplished on grass, but it is Querrey who will most enjoy this particular surface for this contest. The 44th-ranked American now has an even record on the season at 13-13 thanks to wins this week over Santiago Giraldo, Pablo Cuevas, and Gilles Simon. Dolgopolov booked his spot in the last four by taking out Donald Young, Pablo Andujar, Domonic Thiem, and Yen-Hsun Lu. The world No. 75 has gone to three sets twice, including a third-set tiebreaker against Lu on Friday. Querrey has blasted 56 aces in Nottingham compared to just seven double-faults; more of the same should see him through at Dolgopolov’s expense.
Pick: Querrey in 3
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