QF previews and predictions: Del Potro vs. Chardy, Gasquet vs. Kyrgios

Juan Martin Del Potro is looking for a place in the semifinals in the first tournament of his comeback as he takes the court against Jeremy Chardy on Friday in Delray Beach. In Marseille, meanwhile, Richard Gasquet and Nick Kyrgios are renewing their rivalry.

Delray Beach Open: (WC) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (5) Jeremy Chardy

Del Potro’s comeback to tennis could not be off to a better start. Through two matches in Delray Beach, the 27-year-old has not dropped a single set or even been pushed to a tiebreaker. After beating an out-of-sorts Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-4, Del Potro got a tougher test from John-Patrick Smith but passed it with flying colors in the form of a 6-4, 6-4 victory. This is the 2009 U.S. Open champion’s first tournament since the 2015 Miami Masters after he missed the rest of last season because of wrist surgery.

Up next on Friday night is a third career showdown against Chardy, with the head-to-head series tied at 1-1. Del Potro dominated 6-1, 6-3 in the 2012 Cincinnati quarterfinals before Chardy won a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-3 thriller at the 2013 Australian Open. The 30th-ranked Frenchman booked his spot in this week’s quarterfinals by taking out Matthew Ebden 6-2, 6-1 and Noah Rubin 6-4, 6-2. This is the stage at which Del Potro’s previous comeback event flamed out, as the Argentine defeated Segiy Stakhovsky and Fabio Fognini last year in Sydney and then succumbed to Mikhail Kukushkin. A similar story may transpire in Delray Beach because Chardy presents a massive step up in competition level from Kudla and Smith.

Pick: Chardy in 3

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Nick Kyrgios vs. (3) Richard Gasquet

The resumption of what has become an interesting rivalry will take place when Gasquet and Kyrgios collide for the sixth time in their careers on Friday. Gasquet owns a comfortable 4-1 lead in the head-to-head series, but they have waged a pair of entertaining Wimbledon battles. Kyrgios saved an incredible nine match points to stun the Frenchman 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5, 10–8 two years ago before Gasquet thwarted another comeback attempt by prevailing 7-5, 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(6) last summer. They most recently faced each other last August in Cincinnati, marking Kyrgios’ second match since his well-documented incident with Stan Wawrinka in Montreal. An out-of-sorts Australian unsurprisingly went down in flames 6-2, 6-1.

This is just the second tournament of the season for each man. Gasquet missed the Australian summer because of a back injury, returned to win the Montpellier title, and withdrew from Rotterdam citing illness and a groin issue. The 10th-ranked Frenchman remained undefeated on the year by beating Ernests Gulbis 7-6(5), 6-3 on Thursday. Kyrgios, who reached the third round in Melbourne, pulled out of Rotterdam due to a wrist problem. The 20-year-old is back in business with straight-set victories this week over Vasek Pospisil and doubles partner Teymuraz Gabashvili. He is serving better than 70 percent through two matches and has not been broken. This is a big opportunity for Kyrgios, who appears to be heating up and is facing an opponent who was merely mediocre against Gulbis.

Pick: Kyrgios in 3

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