German hopes Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber will continue their Stuttgart campaigns on Friday. They are set for respective quarterfinal encounters with Fabio Fognini and Gael Monfils.
(1) Tommy Haas vs. (5) Fabio Fognini
Haas and Fognini will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup on Friday. It has already been a good week for Fognini, who held off Alexander Ward in his opener before destroying Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-3 during second-round action. The 31st-ranked Italian owns a 22-17 record for the year, which includes a semifinal finish on the clay-courts of Monte-Carlo.
The German fans were treated to a familiar sight on Thursday, when Haas beat Ernests Gulbis in three sets. Haas and Gulbis have now faced each other in the second round of three German-hosted events since late April and the crowd favorite has prevailed all three times. The 35-year-old, who earned a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, is now 31-12 for the season. Highlights for the world No. 11 include a title in Munich, a semifinal performance in Miami, and a quarterfinal showing at the French Open. Clay will give Fognini a chance, but Haas should have too much game and should be inspired in front of the Stuttgart faithful.
Pick: Haas in 2
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Gael Monfils vs. (2) Philipp Kohlschreiber
Kohlschreiber and Monfils will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they do battle again on Friday. Monfils is dominating the head-to-head series 8-1, including 2-0 on clay. Their most recent encounter came earlier this season on the hard courts of Doha, where Monfils scored a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 second-round victory. They last met on clay at the 2012 Madrid Masters, with the Frenchman prevailing 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-3.
Monfils skipped Wimbledon due to personal issues, but he dismissed countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the Stuttgart first round before hammering Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday. The 60th-ranked Frenchman, clearly back on the rise with a seemingly clean bill of health, is 21-13 at the ATP level in 2013. Kohlschreiber has also dealt with his fair share of physical problems this year and he retired from his Wimbledon opener, but the 25th-ranked German rolled over qualifier Nils Langer 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday. He is a decent 20-14 for the season. Kohlschreiber has home-court advantage, but that hardly mattered for Mayer and Monfils is simply playing too well at the moment. The unseeded floater is also showing mental toughness in competitive matches, and this is sure to be another one.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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Haas and Gulbis should be a great match, a true 50-50. As for Kohlshriber, I’m picking him in his home country!
nice call on Kohli