A surprising semifinal lineup in Rotterdam is without Roger Federer, but it does feature 2012 runner-up Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro is going up against Grigor Dimitrov while Julien Benneteau faces Gilles Simon.
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Juan Martin Del Potro
Dimitrov is in the midst of his second outstanding tournament of the year at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and he will surpass his career-high ranking of No. 40 in the world on Monday (he is currently 41st). In Brisbane, the 21-year-old Bulgarian upset Milos Raonic then beat Marcos Baghdatis in the semifinals before losing to Andy Murray in the title match. Dimitrov is once again coming off a win over Baghdatis, whom he defeated 6-7(4), 7-6(0), 6-3 on Friday to improve his record for the season to 9-4.
Saturday’s semifinal showdown against Del Potro is another step up in class for Dimitrov, just as it was against Murray last month. Del Potro’s Australian Open was forgettable but he is looking good in Rotterdam. The seventh-ranked Argentine, who finished runner-up to Federer last year, has scored straight-set victories over Gael Monfils, Ernests Gulbis, and Jarkko Nieminen. Dimitrov is talented enough to hang with any opponent and his backhand slice should work well against this opponent, but the odds are not in his favor. A high-bouncing indoor hard court suits Del Potro’s game perfectly, so count on the No. 2 seed making a return trip to the final.
Pick: Del Potro 7-6(4), 6-3
Julien Benneteau vs. (5) Gilles Simon
It will be an all-French affair when Benneteau and Simon square off for the sixth time in their careers at the ATP level on Saturday in Rotterdam. Simon leads the head-to-head series 3-2, although they are tied up at two apiece on either indoor hard courts or carpet. Benneteau definitely has the edge in current form and he already owns nine match victories this season. The world No. 39 is coming off a 6-3, 7-5 stunner of Roger Federer on Friday evening.
Simon has quietly strung together eight wins this year, but he is still looking for his first semifinal of 2013 after a pair of quarterfinal exits. Indoor hard courts suit both players’ games just fine, although Simon would probably prefer the court to be a notch faster. The question is how will Benneteau follow up such a big victory? His only previous scalp of Federer came at the 2009 Paris Masters, where he promptly lost in straight sets to Gael Monfils one round later. This however, may be a different Benneteau–one who might even be ready for his first career ATP title.
Pick: Benneteau 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Leave a Reply