Quarterfinal action on Friday in St. Petersburg will feature an all-seeded showdown between Denis Shapovalov and Stan Wawrinka. Borna Coric and Reilly Opelka are also aiming for a place in the semis.
(5) Stan Wawrinka va. (2) Denis Shapovalov
Shapovalov and Wawrinka will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the third time on an indoor hard court when they clash in the St. Petersburg Open quarterfinals on Friday. They split their two previous encounters; Shapovalov prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 at the 2018 Tokyo event before Wawrinka got the job done 6-4, 7-6(4) one season later in Rotterdam.
They are separated by just six spots in the rankings, but a clear edge in current form goes to Shapovalov. The 12th-ranked Canadian reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals and the Rome Masters semis, and so far this week he has eased past Viktor Troicki and Ilya Ivashka in straight sets. Wawrinka had some Challenger success on clay after returning from the coronavirus hiatus, but he underwhelmed in Rome and Paris. The 18th-ranked Swiss has advanced so far in St. Petersburg by beating both Dan Evans and Evgeny Donskoy in three sets. A tough road only gets even more difficult against a confident Shapovalov.
Pick: Shapovalov in 2
Reilly Opelka vs. (7) Borna Coric
There will be a new champion at this tournament because 2019 winner and top seed Daniil Medvedev lost to Opelka on Thursday. The 6’11” American preceded that result by defeating qualifier Nino Serdarusic 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the opening round, so it certainly hasn’t been easy. Of course, it rarely is for Opelka. The nature of his tennis is such that competitive matches that come down to just a few key points are the norm.
The world No. 36’s previous encounter with Coric was no different, as he got the best of the Croat 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the 2019 Cincinnati Masters. Coric has earned another shot at one of the tallest players in tennis by ousting Feliciano Lopez and Roman Safiullin in straight sets. This is considerable step up in competition, though, and Opelka has to be supremely confident after upsetting Medvedev. Another factor is that Coric’s serve can be shaky–especially when he is under pressure to hold every time against an opponent like Opelka.
Pick: Opelka in 3
WWW?
https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/sam-querry-covid-19-russia-escape-on-private-jet-st-petersburg-open/71c55e9f-82cf-41c1-a0ba-6c39f59bfc66
Maybe he thought he had diplomatic immunity 🙂
Maybe he thought he’d be sent to Siberia, his wife deported and their baby placed in a Russian orphanage. He’s Sam Querrey. He panicked and fled. Never has been the sharpest knife in the drawer. Why on earth did he take his wife and baby off to Russia in the midst of a pandemic in the first place?
Opelka or especially Raonic could win this tournament now.
Shapovalov was a good tip but Opelka was a mistake. On form, on ranking, having made the USO quarters and back on hardcourts, Coric has to be a strong chance of winning that match.
Won his first match in straight too. Was it because you poked at the bookies odds first that clouded your judgement. Medvedev is in bad form right now so not a good form line at all.
“Looked”
Sometimes there’s luck involved, something you couldn’t have predicted but usually when you get it wrong it’s because a mistake or oversight was made somewhere.