Shanghai QF previews and picks: Federer vs. Benneteau, Lopez vs. Youzhny

Roger Federer will continue his Shanghai campaign on Friday when he goes up against familiar foe Julien Benneteau. Feliciano Lopez and Mikhail Youzhny are also aiming for a spot in the quarterfinals.

(3) Roger Federer vs. Julien Benneteau

Federer and Benneteau will be clashing for the eighth time in their careers when they meet in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-2 in Federer’s favor, but Benneteau has won two of their three hard-court encounters. Both of the Frenchman’s upsets came indoors; 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 at the 2009 Paris Masters and 6-3, 7-5 last season in Rotterdam. They most recently faced each other at the 2013 French Open, where Federer cruised 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Still in search of his first career ATP title, Benneteau finished runner-up last month in Kuala Lumpur before fatigue contributed to an early loss in Beijing. So far this week the world No. 30 has taken out Ze Zhang, Grigor Dimitrov, and Jack Sock. Federer booked his place in the last eight with defeats of Leonardo Mayer (saved five match points) and Roberto Bautista Agut. This is yet another tournament in which Federer seems to be improving match by match. While other top players crash out, the 33-year-old Swiss will be eager to maintain momentum heading into Basel, Paris, and London.

Pick: Federer in 2

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Mikhail Youzhny vs. Feliciano Lopez

Youzhny and Lopez will be doing battle for the seventh time in their careers at the ATP level on Friday. Lopez leads the head-to-head series 4-2, including 3-1 on either hard courts or carpet. Their most recent meeting came this spring on the clay courts of Madrid, where Lopez got the job done 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. They have faced each other once on the Asian swing, with Youzhny surviving a 2011 Beijing showdown 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-5.

At 33 years old, Lopez will likely reach a career-high ranking of No. 14 in the world if he wins this match. The Spaniard is 36-22 for the season following wins this week over Thanasi Kokkinakis, Rafael Nadal, and John Isner. He has won six consecutive sets since dropping his opener to Kokkinakis 14-12 in a tiebreaker. A slumping Youzhny has suddenly gotten on track with scalps of Ernests Gulbis, Ivan Dodig, and Juan Monaco. The 35th-ranked Russian may be feeling the effects of tough three-setters against both Dodig and Monaco. It won’t help him that Lopez has to be extremely comfortable in Shanghai as a two-time semifinalist.

Pick: Lopez in 3

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