‘s-Hertogenbosch QF previews and predictions: Sinner vs. Ruusuvuori, Mannarino vs. Thompson

Grass-court gurus Adrian Mannarino and Jordan Thompson will be a part of quarterfinal competition on Friday in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Jannik Sinner and Emil Ruusuvuori are also aiming for a place in the last four.

Emil Ruusuvuori vs. (2) Jannik Sinner

Sinner and Ruusuvuori will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers at the ATP level when they meet again in the Libema Open quarterfinals on Friday. All five of their previous main-tour encounters have gone the way of Sinner, who most recently prevailed 6-3, 6-1 in the Miami Open quarters a few months ago. Interestingly, three of those five meetings have come in Miami–and all have been played on hard courts. Ruusuvuori has actually defeated Sinner on one occasion, as they squared off at the 2020 Canberra Challenger and the Finn got the job done 6-3, 6-4.

There is no reason to think Ruusuvuori will suddenly turn the tide back in his favor. Sinner, a 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist (led Novak Djokovic two sets to love), is stellar on grass and clobbered Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2 in his ‘s-Hertogenbosch opener. Ruusuvuori did well get to get past both Brandon Nakashima and Ugo Humbert in three sets, but Sinner is a whole different beast who obviously owns this particular matchup.

Pick: Sinner in 2

Adrian Mannarino vs. Jordan Thompson

Look no further than the head-to-head history between Mannarino and Thompson to figure out how much these guys love grass. They have faced each other on five previous occasions and three have come on the lawn–including two in none other than ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Mannarino has won four of their meetings, including all three on grass. Their pair of showdowns at this tournament came in 2017 and 2019–with the Frenchman advancing 6-4, 6-1 and 7-6(7), 6-3, respectively. That latter contest was the final.

As Mannarino bids for a second ‘s-Hertogenbosch title and third ATP title overall, he booked his spot in the last eight by beating Arthur Fils in straight sets and No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev in three. Thompson took care of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Milos Raonic earlier in the week. This should be a high-quality affair, but Mannarino has held the upper hand over the Aussie in the past and that probably isn’t going to change based on his second-round performance against Medvedev.

Pick: Mannarino in 2