Quarterfinal action will be taking place at Queen’s Club and also in Halle on Friday. Cameron Norrie and Sebastian Korda find themselves in London, while Daniil Medvedev and Roberto Bautista Agut collide in Germany.
Cinch Championships: Sebastian Korda vs. (5) Cameron Norrie
Norrie and Korda will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in the Queen’s Club quarterfinals on Friday. Korda leads the head-to-head series 2-1 thanks to victories at the 2021 Delray Beach event and the 2022 Australian Open. However, Norrie avenged his Delray Beach loss by prevailing at the same tournament one year later–via a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(4) decision.
This promises to be another competitive, high-quality contest between two outstanding grass-court players. Norrie was a Wimbledon semifinalist last summer and so far at Queen’s Club has defeated Miomir Kecmanovic and Jordan Thompson. Korda, who is making his way back from a wrist injury, punched his ticket to the last eight by beating Dan Evans and Stuttgart champion Frances Tiafoe. With the 22-year-old American perhaps not quite all the way back to his absolute best and Norrie benefiting from home-court advantage, a slight edge may go to the 13th-ranked Brit.
Pick: Norrie in 3
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Terra Wortmann Open: (1) Daniil Medvedev vs. (8) Roberto Bautista Agut
Medvedev’s grass-court summer began with an immediate loss in ‘s-Hertogenbosch to Adrian Mannarino, but the third-ranked Russian is getting in some productive match practice in Halle prior to Wimbledon. He opened with a straight-set rout of Marcos Giron and then battled past Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 on Wednesday.
Up next for Medvedev in the quarterfinals on Friday is a seventh meeting with Bautista Agut, who leads the head-to-head series 4-2. They actually faced each other twice on grass last year, with Medvedev cruising 6-4, 6-2 in the same round of this same Halle event before Bautista Agut rolled 6-3, 6-2 in Halle. Their most recent encounter came this past fall on the indoor hard courts of Astana, where Medvedev dominated 6-1, 6-1. The 35-year-old Spaniard is never an easy out on any surface, but Medvedev had the upper hand last season in Halle and that will likely be the case again.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
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