Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Nicolas Mahut will continue their ‘s-Hertogenbosch campaigns on Thursday. Chardy is going up against Stanislas Wawrinka while Mahut is facing Evgeny Donskoy.
(5) Jeremy Chardy vs. (2) Stanislas Wawrinka
Chardy and Wawrinka will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in the quarterfinals of the Topshelf Open on Thursday. Wawrinka has won all three of their previous meetings, but they have never faced each other on grass. Their most recent encounter came last fall on the hard courts of Tokyo, where the Swiss scored a 7-6(1), 6-7(6), 7-5 victory.
Neither man has a lost a set this week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Chardy booked his spot in this matchup by defeating Lucas Pouille and Marius Copil. The 27th-ranked Frenchman is now 14-12 for the year. Wawrinka kicked off his campaign by beating Steve Darcis before getting past Paolo Lorenzi on Tuesday. The world No. 10, who has been in outstanding form of late, boasts a 32-10 record for the season. Assuming Wawrinka is still motivated in the week leading up to Wimbledon, he should have the edge.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
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Evgeny Donskoy vs. (Q) Nicolas Mahut
Donskoy and Mahut will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the first time at the ATP level when they clash during quarterfinal action on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came two years ago on the hard courts of a Challenger event in Segovia, Spain, where Donskoy prevailed 7-6(4), 6-4. The 73rd-ranked Russian, however, is relatively inexperienced on grass and he is still a modest 8-12 for the season following victories this week over John Isner and Robin Haase.
Mahut, meanwhile, has always done some of his best work on the green stuff. The 31-year-old Frenchman, a former runner-up at Queen’s Club, qualified for the ‘s-Hertogenbosch main draw then dismissed both Ricardas Berankis and Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets. Mahut, ranked 240th in part due to injuries, started rounding back into form with a doubles appearance in the French Open final. On this surface, Mahut should be able to implement aggressive tactics and showcase too much of an all-court game for Donskoy.
Pick: Mahut in 2
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