Juan Martin Del Potro and Dmitry Tursunov, the two remaining Sydney seeds, will battle for a spot in the title match on Friday. Bernard Tomic and Sergiy Stakhovsky are also in semifinal action.
(1) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (4) Dmitry Tursunov
Del Potro and Tursunov will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Apia International on Friday afternoon. Both of their previous meetings–which were also contested on hard courts–have gone Del Potro’s way; 6-4, 6-1 at the 2011 Valencia tournament and 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 last summer in the Cincinnati quarters.
The fifth-ranked Argentine has advanced so far this week with three-set wins over Nicolas Mahut and Radek Stepanek. Tursunov, who also got a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed, earned his place in the last four by taking out Lukas Rosol 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Denis Istomin 7-6(5), 6-2. The 31-year-old Russian lost his Brisbane opener last week to Sam Querrey in straight sets. Tursunov is a power player who does not like to play defense, but Del Potro’s offensive firepower will force him to do that all too often.
Pick: Del Potro in 2
[polldaddy poll=7701819]
(Q) Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. Bernard Tomic
Like John Isner at home in the United States, Tomic is showing signs of being a hometown specialist in Australia. That’s not to say he has failed to produce elsewhere (see 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinals), but he captured the first and only ATP title of his career last year at this Sydney event and he also reached the third round of the Australian Open. Tomic has never lost in round one of Melbourne in five main-draw appearances and he went all the way to last 16 in 2012. The 21-year-old is now 11-1 lifetime at the Apia International (qualifying matches included) following wins this week over Marcel Granollers, Blaz Kavcic, and Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Up next for Tomic is a second career date with Stakhovsky, whom he defeated 7-6(4), 6-3 two seasons ago on the hard courts of Miami. This is Stakhovsky’s best week since stunning Roger Federer in the Wimbledon second round last summer. The 101st-ranked Ukrainian, who failed to qualify in Chennai, qualified for the main draw and then dismissed Carlos Berlocq, Julien Benneteau, and Marinko Matosevic all in routine straight sets. Stakhovsky is clearly in fine form, but Tomic’s home-court advantage and former Sydney success should help make the difference.
Pick: Tomic in 3
[polldaddy poll=7702726]
Tomic in 3. 6-7, 7-5, 6-3. Good call, Ricky.
Del Potro in 2, Tomic in 3. Congratulations to me.