Gael Monfils and Feliciano Lopez, the top seeds in their respective tournaments, will go up against countrymen on semifinal Saturday. Monfils is facing Richard Gasquet in Montpellier and Lopez is doing battle with Fernando Verdasco in Quito.
Open Sud de France: (1) Gael Monfils vs. (4) Richard Gasquet
Monfils and Gasquet will be squaring off for a third consecutive year in Montpellier and for the 12th time in their careers when they clash during semifinal action on Saturday. Thanks to a three-match winning streak that includes seven consecutive sets taken, Monfils now leads the head-to-head series 7-4. The two Frenchman have split their Montpellier meetings; Gasquet won 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in 2013 before Monfils prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in last season’s final.
Gasquet did not have too much trouble booking his spot in the last four. The world No. 28 ousted compatriot Lucas Pouille 6-3, 7-6(6) then took care of Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-4 on Friday. Monfils’ first-rounder at the Australian Open also came against Pouille, whom he overcame in five sets. Nothing has been easy in 2015 for this week’s top seed, who scraped past Steve Darcis 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Head-to-head history obviously favors Monfils, but Gasquet is well-rested and seems motivated to do well at an event where he is 18-6 lifetime with two titles.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
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Ecuador Open: (1) Feliciano Lopez vs. (3) Fernando Verdasco
Lopez and Verdasco will be facing each other for just the second time since 2009 when the two Spaniards and occasional doubles partners collide in the Quito semifinals. Verdasco leads the head-to-head series 4-3, including 1-0 on clay (but that encounter came way back at the 2004 Kitzbuhel tournament). They most recently battled on the grass courts of Eastbourne in 2013, when Verdasco got the job done 6-4, 7-6(6).
Clay suits Verdasco particularly well and he has cruised in Quito without the loss of a set while disposing of Gerald Melzer and Paolo Lorenzi. Lopez, a fourth-round performer at the Aussie Open, is one of the few Spaniards who are actually better on faster surfaces. Still, the No. 1 seed has taken out Alejandro Gonzalez (straight) and Dusan Lajovic (three) this week. Based mostly on the surface, Verdasco should have an edge.
Pick: Verdasco in 2
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Monfils/Gasquet is a tough one for me. I know that Monfils can be all over the place and wildly inconsistent, yet brilliant when he sets his mind to it. He should win this match, but Gasquet has been the steadier player. I do think it will go three sets.
I guess that I will go with Gasquet this time in three sets.
As for Verdasco/Lopez, I am going with Verdasco in three sets.