Xavier Malisse and Nicolas Mahut are set of an all-unseeded semifinal clash on Friday in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Stanislas Wawrinka and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez are also bidding for a place in the title match.
Xavier Malisse vs. (Q) Nicolas Mahut
Malisse and Mahut will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in the semifinals of the Topshelf Open on Friday. Mahut won their only previous encounter 3-6, 7-6(8), 7-5 on the grass courts of Nottingham in 2006. They also faced each other twice in hard-court Challenger events, with Malisse prevailing both times in three sets.
Malisse has always been an outstanding grass-courter and he is up to his old tricks this week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The former Wimbledon semifinalist (2002) ousted No. 1 seed David Ferrer in round one before getting past Yen-Hsun Lu and Roberto Bautista Agut. Malisse, ranked 60th in the world at 32 years old, is one victory away from an even 13-13 record for the season. Mahut has also fared well on the slick stuff throughout his career. In addition to playing one of the most famous matches in tennis history at Wimbledon in 2010 against John Isner, he also finished runner-up at Queen’s Club in 2007 (lost to Andy Roddick in a third-set tiebreaker). The 240th-ranked Frenchman qualified for the main draw last weekend and has since dismissed Ricardas Berankis, Andrey Kuznetsov, and Evgeny Donskoy all in straight sets.
The 31-year-old is playing again and playing well–at least on grass. His stellar serve and net play allow him to implement aggressive tactics and keep points short. Malisse, though, is extremely comfortable on this surface and he also has far more experience in the latter stages of tournaments (he has been to 12 ATP finals and owns three titles).
Pick: Malisse in 3
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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (2) Stanislas Wawrinka
Garcia-Lopez and Wawrinka will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers at the ATP level when they do battle on Friday. Wawrinka is leading the head-to-head series 3-2 after dominating a clay-court quarterfinal 6-1, 6-2 this spring in Casablanca. Both of Garcia-Lopez’s victories came on the slow stuff (in 2009 and 2011).
Wawrinka has been the highest-ranked player left in the draw and title favorite ever since Ferrer exited. The world No. 10 defeated Steve Darcis, Paolo Lorenzi, and Jeremy Chardy to book his spot in the last four. Now 33-10 for the year, Wawrinka has not lost to anyone other than Rafael Nadal since the Monte-Carlo Masters in early April. Garcia-Lopez also has not dropped a set so far in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The 78th-ranked Spaniard ousted No. 7 seed Victor Hanescu before getting past Daniel Brands and Jan Hernych. He is now 9-11 for his 2013 campaign.
On this surface, the only real reason Wawrinka could lose is to relative disinterest and a desire to prepare for Wimbledon at the All-England Club. Having come this far, however, the second seed should be motivated.
Pick: Wawrinka in 2
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