Nicolas Mahut is two victories away from a third career triumph at his old stomping grounds in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Mahut is going up against Sam Querrey during semifinal action on Saturday, while Ivo Karlovic and Gilles Muller are also aiming for a place in the title match.
(7) Gilles Muller vs. (3) Ivo Karlovic
It will be a classic grass-court contest when Karlovic and Muller collide in the semifinals of the Ricoh Open on Saturday. This is their first meeting in the last 13 years and first of their careers at the ATP level. The two veterans last faced each other on the hard courts of the Binghamton Challenger in 2003, when Karlovic cruised 6-1, 6-1. Fast forward to 2016 and the 6’11” Croat is still going strong at 37 years old. Foot problems have put a slight dent in what has still been an extremely productive and seemingly interminable career, but he remains in the top 30 of the rankings (currently 28th). Always a force on grass, Karlovic has advanced in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with straight-set defeats of Igor Sijsling and Adrian Mannarino.
Muller has matched his best result of the season (previously reached semifinals in Sydney and Sofia), which should not come as a real surprise given that he is also more than capable on the green stuff. The 44th-ranked Luxembourgian is a decent 13-10 for the year following wins this week over Robin Haase, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and top-seeded David Ferrer in a third-set tiebreaker. In a match that is almost certain to come down to just a few crucial points, Karlovic–who has 42 aces through two matches–may enjoy the slightest of edges thanks to his massive serve.
Pick: Karlovic in 3
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(5) Sam Querrey vs. (8) Nicolas Mahut
Death, taxes, and Nicolas Mahut winning titles in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Those appear to be the three certainties of life…or something like that. All three of the 34-year-old ATP titles have come at 250-point events on grass, including two in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (both in the last three seasons). Mahut has put himself within two victories of yet another winner’s trophy following wins at the expense of Lukas Lacko, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Bernard Tomic.
Up next for the world No. 49 on Saturday is a second career encounter with Querrey. Their only previous showdown came last summer in round one of the U.S. Open, where Mahut got the job done 7-5, 7-6(6), 7-5. Although it is Mahut who basically has home-court advantage this time around (maybe not literally, but he has to feel at home at this tournament), Querrey is also an accomplished grass-courter. The 37th-ranked American once triumphed at Queen’s Club (2010) and his a two-time runner-up on grass. So far this week he has taken out Benjamin Becker, Tatsuma Ito, and Stefan Kozlov. The competition level will ratchet up in a major way with Mahut on the other side of the net, and the Frenchman may be too tough for Querrey at what has to be considered his favorite event.
Pick: Mahut in 3
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Going with Querry in 3 in the upset; and Ivo in straight.
Dr. Ivo in three and Mahut in three
I was really suprised to see that Gilles and Ivo have never met on The ATP Tour. I thought the musi have met somewhere. Obviously this is really hard to predict, but i’m going with Dr Ivo in 3 with two tiebreaks.
As for Querrey vs Mahut i see Nicolas as a clear favorite. I really enjoyed his play in the match with Bernie Tomic. Mahut in 2 with one tiebreaker.
Hope you are right, manwerty.
Dr. Ivo…wait. Wouldn’t this be Muller’s first ATP title? Have to hope Gilles can make it!
Mahut in 3.