It will be an all-seeded semifinal lineup on Saturday in Sofia. Top seed Roberto Bautista Agut is going up against Gilles Muller, while Viktor Troicki is trying to continue his fine form at the expense of Martin Klizan.
(1) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (6) Gilles Muller
Bautista Agut and Muller will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they battle on Saturday for a place in the inaugural Sofia Open final. The head-to-head series stands at 2-2 overall, with Bautista Agut leading 2-1 at the ATP level. They most recently faced each other at last season’s Australian Open, where Muller prevailed 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. Bautista Agut beat the Luxembourgian twice in 2013, although both of those meetings came on clay.
In outstanding form to begin the year, Bautista Agut won the Auckland title and reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. So far this week the 18th-ranked Spaniard has contested only one match, as he got a bye and a walkover from Filip Krajinovic before beating Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3 on Friday. Muller is also on top of his game. The world No. 42 has improved to 8-3 for the season with straight-set defeats of Malek Jaziri, Ricardas Berankis, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. However, Muller served at just 54 percent against Berankis and a decent 66 percent against Garcia-Lopez while double-faulting a combined 10 times in those two matches. That is not going to get it done against an opponent as red hot as Bautista Agut.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 2
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(7) Martin Klizan vs. (2) Viktor Troicki
Troicki and Klizan will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Troicki, who prevailed over Klizan twice last season. The Serb won 6-2, 6-3 in Sydney and 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-2 on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo. Klizan’s lone victory came via a 6-3, 6-2 decision on the grass of Eastbourne in 2013, but he has since lost three in a row to Troicki. Their most memorable encounter was their first–taken by Troicki 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 at Wimbledon in 2012.
Klizan is suddenly in fine form from just about out of nowhere. The 44th-ranked Slovak was 0-3 for the year prior to his arrival in Sofia, where he has defeated Alexandar Lazov, Lukas Rosol (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Andreas Seppi. Troicki, on the other hand, has been playing great tennis throughout the early stages of this 2016 campaign. The world No. 25 boasts a 9-2 record that includes a title in Sydney and victories this week over Daniel Brands and Philipp Kohlschreiber–both in easy straight sets. There may be no stopping Troicki in Sofia–maybe not by anyone.
Pick: Troicki in 2
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who ya got?
troicki in 3
agut in 3
very possible
Same as Ricky
RBA in 2
Troicki in 2
Troicki in 2. I don’t see Viktor losing. He’s playing so well lately. And as for muller vs RBA, this ones tough for me. Muller has won both their hard court meetings, including last year at the Aus Open. But RBA won both their two clay meetings, so he has wins as well over Muller. RBA is the most in form player at this event along with Troicki, but I have a feeling that muller is going to find some big serves and find a way through like he has all week. That last win of his impressed me, and I’m going with my gut here. That pick could easily backfire considering logic and current form heading into the event gives RBA an edge, but I’m taking an upset here. Muller will have to cut down double faults, though. That’s for sure.