Andy Murray and defending champ Marin Cilic will continue their Queen’s Club campaigns during semifinal action on Saturday. They are set for respective meetings with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Lleyton Hewitt.
(1) Andy Murray vs. (4) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Tsonga and Murray will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the AEGON Championships on Saturday. Murray is dominating the head-to-head series 7-1, including 3-0 on grass. They faced each other twice last season; Murray prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at Wimbledon before scoring a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory at the World Tour Finals. None of their previous grass-court encounters ended in straight sets.
Murray missed the French Open due to a back problem, but he appears to be in recovery mode at Queen’s Club. The second-ranked Scot has taken out Nicolas Mahut, Marinko Matosevic, and Benjamin Becker all in straight sets. Tsonga, of course, represents a huge step up in competition. The world No. 7, a semifinalist at Roland Garros, has improved to 29-9 for the season with scalps of Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Igor Sijsling, and Denis Kudla. Tsonga’s first two matches both went to three sets. Based on their head-to-head history, level of play this week, and general prowess on grass, Murray should have the upper hand in this one.
Pick: Murray in 2
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Lleyton Hewitt vs. (5) Marin Cilic
No matter how young or how old, the bottom line is Hewitt gets the job done on grass. The 32-year-old is 39-13 lifetime at Wimbledon (with a title in 2002) and 46-10 for his career during this current week on the ATP schedule (Queen’s Club and Halle combined). So far this week Hewitt has dismissed Michael Russell, Grigor Dimitrov, and No. 3 seed Juan Martin Del Potro. The oft-injured Australian has ended a four-match losing streak with a bang thanks to his performance in London.
Up next for Hewitt is a second career showdown against Cilic. Their only previous meeting came last summer on grass at the London Olympics, where Hewitt prevailed 6-4, 7-5 during second-round action. Cilic is the defending champion of this event and his defense is off to a great start with victories over Ivan Dodig, Feliciano Lopez, and second-seeded Tomas Berdych. The Croat is a solid 23-10 for his 2013 campaign, but he is just now emerging from a dismal slump that spanned throughout April and May. Don’t be surprised if Hewitt’s tenacity and aptitude on this surface propel him to Sunday’s final.
Pick: Hewitt in 3
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