Semifinal previews and predictions: Edmund vs. Fritz, Carreno Busta vs. Sonego

Action in Eastbourne and Antalya moves into the semifinals on Friday, with the events ending on Saturday due to Wimbledon on the horizon. Kyle Edmund faces Taylor Fritz at the former, while Pablo Carreno Busta meets Lornezo Sonego at the latter.

Eastbourne: Taylor Fritz vs. (3) Kyle Edmund

Edmund and Fritz will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in the semifinals of the Nature Valley International on Friday afternoon. This is already a much-needed successful week for Edmund, and doing it in front of the British crowd will only make it more satisfying. The world No. 31 fell to a dreadful 6-11 this season with last week’s first-round loss in Queen’s Club to Stefanos Tsitsipas, but so far in Eastbourne he has taken care of countrymen Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans.

Fritz is steadily gaining on Edmund in the rankings, currently registering at 42nd and guaranteed to reach at least a career-high of 39th on Monday. The 21-year-old American has earned 16 ATP-level wins in 2019 following defeats of Paul Jubb, Guido Pella, and Hubert Hurkacz. This should be a good, but Edmund has an edge on this surface and the fans behind him will only help matters.

Pick: Edmund in 3

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Antalya: (4) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Lorenzo Sonego

Carreno Busta and Sonego will also be squaring off for the first time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Turkish Airlines Open final. This is not a traditional matchup for the latter stages of a grass-court tournament, but both players either have shown or are showing that they can get the job done on any surface. Although grass has never been the best for Carreno Busta, he has taken advantage of a favorable Antalya draw to oust Kevin Krawietz and Bernard Tomic.

A Monte-Carlo quarterfinalist this spring, Sonego mostly excels on clay. The 75th-ranked Italian dropped his opening-round contests at grass-court events in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (main draw) and Halle (qualifying) only to bounce back with Antalya wins over Joao Sousa, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, and Adrian Mannarino. Sonego is coming off consecutive three-setters, whereas Carreno Busta has enjoyed a much more routine week. Moreover, the fourth seed is a superior all-court performer who is underrated at the net.

Pick: Carreno Busta in 2

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