Daniil Medvedev may be out, but the semifinal lineup in St. Petersburg is a blockbuster. Russia’s own Andrey Rublev is facing Denis Shapovalov on Saturday, while Milos Raonic is going up against Borna Coric.
(3) Andrey Rublev vs. (2) Denis Shapovalov
It will be 2020’s first plainly obvious matchup with massive World Tour Finals ramifications when Rublev and Shapovalov square off in the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Open on Saturday. As the fall European swing begins to kick off the stretch run of the season, Rublev is currently in London qualifying position at No. 8 (not including an injured Roger Federer). Shapovalov is not far behind in 12th and would surpass the Russian if he captures this 500-point title.
Their fourth career contest should be a great one, as both men are in outstanding form. Shapovalov, who leads the head-to-head series 2-1, reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals and the Rome Masters semis. So far this week he has taken out Viktor Troicki, Ilya Ivashka, and Stan Wawrinka all in straight sets. Rublev has defeated Vasek Pospisil, Ugo Humbert, and Cameron Norrie, continuing to cement his status as one of the best players on tour this year. The world No. 10 boasts an incredible 32-7 record with three titles. It would not be surprising at all to see No. 4 come in front of the home crowd on Sunday.
Pick: Rublev in 3
(7) Borna Coric vs. (6) Milos Raonic
Raonic and Coric will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Saturday. Their only previous encounter came three years ago in Winston-Salem, where Raonic got the job done 6-3, 7-6(2). The world No. 21 missed the French Open due to injury, but he is well-rested and looking downright formidable on the indoor hard courts of St. Petersburg. He has not dropped a set while beating J.J. Wolf, Alexander Bublik, and Karen Khachanov–the latter with an especially impressive 6-1, 7-6(1) performance.
Coric prepared well for this matchup by taking down another huge server, Reilly Opelka. The 6’11” American was coming off an upset of top-seeded Daniil Medvedev, but Opelka is not at the level of Raonic right now. The Canadian has not been broken yet this week (10 of 10 break points saved), and on this surface his serve will likely get the best of Coric’s counter-punching.
Pick: Raonic in 2
WWW?
Rublev in 2: Milos in 2.
Both of those predictions look good. Ruble should just edge out Shapo and Raonic should win in 2 close sets.
However, I can’t fault Shapovalov’s form coming into this match so that’s a tough one. Shapovalov also leads the H2H 2:1, all encounters played on hardcourt.
Maybe the stats show something im not seeing.
Rublev in three, Raonic in two , say 76 76.
I’ve gone Shapavalov in 3, Raonic in 2.
Rublev v Shapo is almost 50/50.
These players are awful right now. Raonic missing sitter forehands landing inside the service line.
Shapovalov looked in control of the match, loses concentration and plays 1 bad game in the 2nd set and then goes on to lose the match. I was worried he was going to win 2-0.
Dennis was hampered after this 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuFsdHMzpCo
Raonic has to be the biggest cat on the ATP tour. Without the backing of his serve, he’s not even top 500.
Back to wooden racquets, then we’ll see who had the best shots.
Hunger is a major factor in tennis. Coric was simply hungrier than his opponent to win.
Still unable to follow tennis as much as I’d like but got to see Rublev vs Shapo this morning. Wow, their clashes are good. I like both but was very impressed that Andrey hung in until the end and finally won. Shapovalov is an amazing lefty though!
Don’t you folks here think Raonic mostly lacks real match-play? He comes out looking ominous and the most imposing presence. But then Borna got around him. (didn’t see the entire match, just a surprising result, I thought)
BTW Big Congrats to Rafa and all Rafa Fans for Rafa tying Federer’s GS count! Genuinely happy about the incredible Rafa performance at RG, but could not stand to watch Nole get so trashed in the final though. Ouch. He’s still avoiding a major repair of some sort. Hope he doesn’t play until AO.
I think Raonic is much better than his results suggest,he’s always injured.A very clever player.
And while Rafa deserves his place in history,I don’t read too much into Slam results this year.
Raonic is nothing special. He isnt even that tall and moves horrible. Players like Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Felix Auger and more have his height but move 10x better and have so much more potential.