A semifinal spot will be at stake when Richard Gasquet goes up against Juan Monaco on Friday in Shenzhen. Tommy Robredo and Andreas Seppi are also looking for a place in the last four.
Juan Monaco vs. (3) Richard Gasquet
Surprisingly, to say the least, Gasquet and Monaco have never faced each other as they head into a quarterfinal clash at the Shenzhen Open on Friday; click here for betting odds. It has already been a great week for Monaco, who is through to his first hard-court quarterfinal of the season following victories over Federico Delbonis and Vasek Pospisil. The 30-year-old Argentine, struggling down at No. 97 in the world, finally has a winning record for his 2014 campaign at 18-17.
Gasquet has been far more consistent than his opponent this year, but he has been nowhere near spectacular. Despite a relatively early exit at the hands of fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils in New York, the world No. 21 has to be extremely confident on the heels of a straight-set Davis Cup thrashing of Tomas Berdych. That appeared to be the case on Wednesday, when Gasquet maintained his momentum with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Gilles Muller. Although Monaco may be playing his best tennis of the season right now, Gasquet is in superior form and has a surface advantage on a fast hard court.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
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(4) Tommy Robredo vs. (8) Andreas Seppi
Seppi and Robredo will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers on Friday. Robredo leads the head-to-head series 4-3, including 3-1 on hard courts. They met twice in 2013, with Seppi prevailing 6-4, 6-3 on the clay of Oeiras before Robredo scored a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 clay-court victory in Umag. Their last hard-court encounter came at the 2012 U.S. Open, where Robredo dominated 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.
Although he slumping down at 48th in the world, Seppi has been in cruise-control this week. The Italian opened with a 7-6(3), 6-2 win over Maximo Gonzalez before taking out compatriot Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3. Robredo got a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed then overcame Sam Groth 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. The 22nd-ranked Spaniard is 33-20 for the year. In what is sure to be a baseline battle, Robredo’s superior firepower off the forehand wing should prove to be the deciding factor.
Pick: Robredo in 3
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Andy Murray, who says he has no regrets for controversially supporting Scottish independence, will also be in action on Friday. Still on course to play for Great Britain in next year’s first-round Davis Cup tie against the United States, Murray is currently focusing on a strong finish to the 2014 campaign in hopes of qualifying for London’s World Tour Finals. That effort will continue in the Shenzhen quarterfinals, to which the world No. 11 advanced by easing past Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.
Next up for Murray is Lukas Lacko, against whom the No. 2 seed is 2-0 (both previous meetings on hard courts). Murray is 5-0 in total sets against the Slovak and no set has been more competitive than 6-3.
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