St. Petersburg SF previews and predictions: Wawrinka vs. Bautista Agut, Berdych vs. Zverev

It is in all-seeded semifinal lineup in St. Petersburg, where recent U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka is hoping to continue his hot streak on Saturday. Wawrinka is facing Roberto Bautista Agut, while Tomas Berdych is going up against Alexander Zverev.

(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. (4) Roberto Bautista Agut

It would have been fair to question Wawrinka’s motivation level for a 250-point tournament so soon after capturing a Grand Slam title, but the third-ranked Swiss is alive and well heading into the St. Petersburg Open semifinals on Saturday. Wawrinka triumphed at the U.S. Open earlier this month to lift his third major winner’s trophy before skipping his country’s Davis Cup playoff tie against Uzbekistan. This week’s No. 1 seed got back in action on Wednesday, when he rolled over Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-1. Wawrinka followed up that impressive performance by taking care of Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-2 during quarterfinal action on Friday.

Up next for Wawrinka is a first-ever meeting with Bautista Agut, who has advanced with three-set victories over Ricardas Berankis and Joao Sousa. The 16th-ranked Spaniard needed a third-set tiebreaker to get past Berankis and he also battled back from a set down in a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Sousa. Bautista Agut is a stellar 42-17 for the season with a recent quarterfinal showing at the Rio Olympics and a runner-up performance in Winston-Salem. But this is likely a bad matchup for the No. 4 seed (just as it is for many players these days), as Wawrinka should be able to dominate the rallies and blow Bautista Agut off the court with his firepower.

Pick: Wawrinka in 2

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(3) Tomas Berdych vs. (5) Alexander Zverev

Berdych and Zverev will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the fourth time this season when they collide again on Saturday. All four of their previous encounters have gone the way of Berdych, who is 3-0 at Zverev’s expense on indoor hard courts. The ninth-ranked Czech got the job done 6-3, 6-4 last fall in Stockholm, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 early this year in Marseille, and 7-6(6), 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in round one of the Davis Cup World Group. Berdych also prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the Wimbledon third round.

By missing the U.S. Open because of appendicitis, Berdych’s fall swing was also cast into doubt. But he decided he was good to go for St. Petersburg and now finds himself two wins away from his first ATP title of the year. Berdych is through to the last four following victories over Andrey Kuznetsov (in a third-set tiebreaker) and Paolo Lorenzi (6-4, 6-3). Zverev is the only semifinalist who did not earn an opening-round bye as one of the top four seeds, instead benefiting from being in a section of the draw vacated by Milos Raonic. Mikhail Youzhny upset the second-seeded Canadian on Thursday before bowing out to Zverev 6-2, 6-2 in the quarters. The 27th-ranked German preceded that result by defeating fellow 20-year-olds Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev. Zverev appears to be playing well again on the heels of a brief slump through Toronto, Cincinnati, and New York, but not to the extent that he should be expected to turn the tables on Berdych.

Pick: Berdych in 3

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