QF previews and predictions: Coric vs. De Minaur, Dimitrov vs. Bublik

It will be an all-seeded affair when Borna Coric and Alex de Minaur collide in the Zhuhai quarterfinals on Friday. In Zhuhai, meanwhile, U.S. Open semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov will try to continue his fine form at the expense of Alexander Bublik.

Zhuhai Championships: (7) Alex de Minaur vs (4) Borna Coric

De Minaur’s summer was a stellar one, with his second career title in Atlanta, a third-round performance in Cincinnati, and a fourth-round run at the U.S. Open. The 31st-ranked Australian is showing no signs of slowing down this fall, with victories so far in Zhuhai over John Millman (6-1, 6-3) and Andy Murray (4-6, 6-2, 6-4). De Minaur is now 25-15 for his 2019 campaign, which has him well on his way to another appearance in the NextGen ATP Finals (trailing only Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime in that race).

Up next for the seventh seed on Friday night is a first career meeting with Coric, who followed up a bye with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Chinese wild card Di Wu 6-3, 6-3. Although de Minaur may be fatigued after battling Murray for two hours and 42 minutes, Coric has not been 100 percent of late due to a back injury and he is coming off a long week in St. Petersburg–where he finished runner-up to an on-fire Daniil Medvedev. The 14th-ranked Croat is playing well enough again, but de Minaur has the edge in current form and he arguably plays even better defense than Coric while also wielding a more reliable forehand.

Pick: De Minaur in 2

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Chengdu Open: Alexander Bublik vs. (4) Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov and Bublik will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Friday in Chengdu. Like de Minaur, Dimitrov is trying to build on an impressive U.S. Open run–one that included a win over de Minaur, in fact. The 26th-ranked Bulgarian made it all the way to the semifinals, upsetting Roger Federer in the process before falling to Medvedev. Of course, Dimitrov’s preparation for the final Grand Slam of 2019 was much different than that of de Minaur. The 28-year-old was 1-7 in his last eight matches prior to arriving in New York.

Suddenly, it has all turned around for Dimitrov. And it may continue, too, as Zhuhai’s fourth seed kicked off his week on the heels of a bye with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over an in-form Dan Evans on Thursday. Bublik punched his ticket to the quarterfinals by beating 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 and Jordan Thompson 6-4, 7-5. Both Fritz and Thompson are playing extremely well right now, so this is impressive work for the 71st-ranked Kazakh. Bublik has earned 12 of his 18 career main-tour match wins in 2019, but his high-risk, high-reward game is never reliable. Unless the underdog serves incredibly well, a confident Dimitrov will likely be too solid.

Pick: Dimitrov in 2

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