It’s semifinal Saturday around the world on the ATP Tour, including in Marseille–where top seed Daniil Medvedev meets Hamad Medjedovic. On the Golden Swing, Joao Fonseca faces Laslo Djere in Buenos Aires.
Open 13: (1) Daniil Medvedev vs. Hamad Medjedovic
Medvedev and Medjedovic will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Marseille final on Saturday. Their only previous encounter came last spring on the red clay of Rome, where Medvedev survived a 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 thriller.
Both guys are all-court players, but Medjedovic would probably rather face Medvedev once again on clay as opposed to on an indoor hard court. Medvedev is an established force indoors and the surface appears to be getting him back on track following what has been–by his standards–a prolonged slump. The eighth-ranked Russian has advanced this week with straight-set routs of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Jan-Lennard Struff. Medjedovic defeated Raphael Collignon and Karen Khachanov in straights before requiring two hours and 42 minutes to get past Daniel Altmaier 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-4 on Friday night. Shaking off the fatigue and getting right back in gear to face Medvedev is a difficult proposition for the 21-year-old Serb.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
Argentina Open: (Q) Laslo Djere vs. Joao Fonseca
Fonseca’s meteoric rise is taking him higher and higher at seemingly every level of the game–whether it be the NextGen, an ATP 250, or a Grand Slam. The 18-year-old Brazilian is 16-2 in his last 18 matches, a stretch that includes a title at the 2024 NextGen ATP Finals, an upset of Andrey Rublev at the Autralian Open, and victories this week in Buenos Aires over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Federico Coria, and Mariano Navone. The world No. 99 beat Navone in an especially epic contest on Friday afternoon, coming back from 3-5, 15-40 down in the third set to triumph 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 after two hours and 54 minutes.
Up next for Fonseca is a first-ever meeting with Djere, who earned his place in the semis by knocking off Alexandre Muller, Alejandro Tabilo (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Thiago Seyboth Wild. Fatigue could also be a minor factor for the 112th-ranked Serb, as he has already played five matches this week–two in qualifying. If Fonseca can get off the court quickly to conserve energy, he should be able to prevail and punch a ticket to his first ATP final.
Pick: Fonseca in 2
WWW?
They’re both solid picks.
Medvedev in 2
Fonseca in 3
nice Fonseca pick
didn’t think he’d be able to win it if it went 3
Medjedovic was always the play given this week and month. I think though with that I should take a lesson from my own page in regards to Stan and walk away from the sport for a couple years. Maybe pick up computer programming. Wish everyone the best and best of luck.
nah, Medjed was looking rough physically and is simply a far inferior player
They could meet again next week, cant see Meddy(dev) losing again
Medvedev can lose to anyone anywhere right now
Did he not play well in his previous match then slumped badly. Yeah I wonder if he will ever get back where he was.
doubtful