Dominic Thiem appears to finding the range on hard courts as he heads into a St. Petersburg semifinal showdown against Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday. Stan Wawrinka and Martin Klizan are also in action.
(1) Dominic Thiem vs. (5) Roberto Bautista Agut
Thiem and Bautista Agut will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time in more than three years when they battle for a place in the St. Petersburg Open title match on Saturday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Bautista Agut’s way, as the Spaniard prevailed on a trio of occasions in 2015; in four sets at the Australian Open and in straights a few weeks later in Marseille and Dubai. Fast forward to 2018 and Thiem is obviously a much different player now. The eighth-ranked Austrian made Nitto ATP Finals appearances in 2016 and 2017, and he should be on his way to extending that streak to three. Thiem is 46-15 this season with a recent quarterfinal run at the Australian Open and St. Petersburg wins over Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniil Medvedev–the latter in a third-set tiebreaker.
Bautista Agut punched his ticket to the last four by beating qualifier Luca Vanni, ending the career of Mikhail Youzhny in three sets, and making quick 7-6(0), 6-3 work of hard-court novice Marco Cecchinato on Friday. This is some much-needed success for the world No. 26, who had not won a single match since late July prior to arriving in St. Petersburg. Thiem seems to be finding his footing on hard courts, so he should have an edge based on current form even on a surface that does not favor his game.
Pick: Thiem in 2
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(WC) Stan Wawrinka vs. Martin Klizan
Even though his ranking (No. 88) is still much lower than warranted, Wawrinka picked up plenty of momentum this summer during his comeback and he is showing no signs of slowing down in the fall. The Swiss has now won multiple matches at four consecutive tournaments, including three in Cincinnati (lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals) and three this week (all in straight sets over Aljaz Bedene, Karen Khachanov, and Damir Dzumhur).
Wawrinka and Klizan will also be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers, with the three-time Grand Slam champion sweeping the series 3-0. Klizan has at least managed to take their two meetings since 2010 to final sets, falling in five at the 2017 Australian Open and in three earlier this season on the indoor hard courts of Sofia. The 65th-ranked Slovak is an outstanding 18-6 at the ATP level in 2018, maintaining his fine form in St. Petersburg with defeats of Evgeny Donskoy, Fabio Fognini, and Denis Shapovalov. This a good opportunity for a confident Klizan, as Wawrinka has not been to a semifinal since early February in Sofia.
Pick: Klizan in 3
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Thiem in 3; Wka in 2.