A blockbuster quarterfinal matchup in Stuttgart pits Stefanos Tsitsipas against Andy Murray on Friday. It’s an intriguing draw from top to bottom–one that also includes Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Sonego, Nick Kyrgios, and Marton Fucsovics.
(1) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Andy Murray
Tsitsipas and Murray will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the BOSS Open quarterfinals on Friday. Their only previous encounter was a memorable, with Tsitsipas surviving 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the U.S. Open first round last summer. A grass court may help Murray get all the way to the upset that he could not quite obtain 10 months ago in New York. The 35-year-old Scot is a two-time Wimbledon champion, whereas Tsitsipas is just 3-4 on the surface dating back to 2019. Obviously Murray is no longer in his slam-winning prime, but he is a solid 13-8 this season and looked good in straight-set victories over Christopher O’Connell and Alexander Bublik earlier this week.
Following a first-round bye, Tsitsipas took care of Swiss wild card Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. The fifth-ranked Greek had not won a match on grass since 2019, as the 2020 summer was cancelled because of Covid-19 and then he exited the 2021 Wimbledon Championships in round one at the hands of Frances Tiafoe. Tsitsipas’ game isn’t particularly suited to the green stuff and Murray should be able to coax a whole host of mistimed backhands from the top seed. This is a great opportunity for the former world No. 1 to pick up some momentum in advance of Wimbledon.
Pick: Murray in 3
(6) Lorenzo Sonego vs. (2) Matteo Berrettini
If Berrettini is 100 percent, he will undoubtedly be a title contender at Wimbledon. After all, even when the 2021 field at the All-England Club was fully stocked he still made it all the way to the final (lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets). This year’s Wimbledon draw will be depleted at least to some extent because of the Russia and Belarus ban, and it would take another hit if Rafael Nadal is unable to play. Can Berrettini round into form in time? The world No. 10 missed Miami and then the entire clay-court swing because of a right-hand injury. He managed to win his Stuttgart opener on Tuesday but needed three sets to get past Radu Albot.
Next up for Berrettini on Friday is an all-Italian matchup with Sonego, who lost both of their previous meetings at the Challenger level (2016 on indoor carpet and 2019 on the hard courts of Phoenix). Sonego should like his chances of getting on the scoreboard against his compatriot. The No. 6 seed is coming off a third-round performance at Roland Garros (lost to eventual runner-up Casper Ruud in five sets) and half of his four ATP final appearances have come on grass (one title, one runner-up). Look for Sonego to take advantage of a rusty opponent in a competitive grass-court contest that comes down to just a couple of key points.
Pick: Sonego in 3
WWW?
Murray here’s hoping.
Tsitsi can’t play on grass
Both matches should be good