Four players take the court on Friday in Sydney standing two wins away from what would be a bigtime ATP title for any of the four, especially heading into the Australian Open. Julien Benneteau and Bernard Tomic have never won one, while Andreas Seppi is in search of his fourth triumph and Anderson bids for a third. Tomic is facing Seppi, Benneteau is battling Anderson.
(3) Andreas Seppi vs. Bernard Tomic
Seppi and Tomic will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they do battle in the semifinals of the Apia International on Friday. Their only previous encounter came on the grass courts of Queen’s Club in 2010, when Tomic prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Seppi is building on a memorable 2012 campaign, in which he thrilled the home fans en route to the quarters of the Rome Masters before reaching the fourth round of the French Open (lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets). Seppi, registering only one spot off his career-high ranking at No. 23 in the world, has dismissed John Millman and Marcel Granollers so far in Sydney. Tomic is in blistering early-season form. The Australian upset Djokovic at the Hopman Cup but is making a much more important statement in Sydney. His march to the last four has featured victories over Marinko Matosevic, Florian Mayer, and defending champion Jarkko Nieminen.
The rallies in this one should be extremely long, but not necessarily grueling. Tomic and Seppi offer similar playing styles, often content to play offspeed tennis from the back of the court despite being able to pull the offensive trigger when necessary. Tomic has more offensive weapons, but Seppi is far more experienced in the latter stages of ATP events.
Odds: Tomic -185, Seppi +150
Pick: Tomic 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3
Julien Benneteau vs. Kevin Anderson
Benneteau and Anderson will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Apia International on Friday. Benneteau has won both of their previous encounters; 7-5, 6-2 three years ago on the hard courts of Lyon and 7-5, 6-3 one season later on the grass courts of Queen’s Club.
Benneteau is bouncing back nicely from a first-round Brisbane loss to Nieminen. The 31-year-old Frenchman has taken out Pablo Andujar, Radek Stepanek (via first-set retirement), and Ryan Harrison so far in Sydney. Anderson, who did not play last week, dismissed Aljaz Bedene and Feliciano Lopez before defeating Denis Istomin on Thursday.
Anderson always has a chance in just about every match he plays because he serves huge and compliments the weapon well with surprisingly good movement from the baseline. Still, Benneteau seems to be a man on a mission this week. He is 0-6 lifetime in ATP finals and this could be his best-ever opportunity at an event in which he finished runner-up to Nieminen in 2012.
Odds: Benneteau +120, Anderson -150
Pick: Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)
No mention of Tomic beating Seppi at the Hopman Cup a few days back? I know its just an exhibition but still….
fair point. Not a factor for why I think Tomic will win, however. But you are not wrong to note it.