Tokyo QF previews and predictions: Cilic vs. Harrison, Goffin vs. Gasquet

Top two remaining seeds Marin Cilic and David Goffin will continue their Tokyo campaigns during quarterfinal action on Friday. Cilic is facing Ryan Harrison, while Goffin is going up against Richard Gasquet.

(1) Marin Cilic vs. Ryan Harrison

Cilic and Harrison will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers and for the fourth time in the past two seasons when they meet again in the Japan Open quarterfinals on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Cilic, who most recently prevailed 6-3, 6-2 this spring on the red clay of Rome. All four of the Croat’s victories have come in straight sets, whereas Harrison pulled off a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 upset at the 2016 Acapulco event.

A 35-15 record this year is about average by Cilic’s standards, but a runner-up performance at Wimbledon likely has him headed for another berth in the World Tour Finals. The world No. 5 has benefited from a favorable draw so far in Tokyo, where he has thrashed qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas and wild card Yasutaka Uchiyama. Harrison ousted wild card Yusuke Takahashi 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in his opener before upsetting U.S. Open finalist Kevin Anderson 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(2) on Wednesday. The 52nd-ranked American is a decent 17-19 at the ATP level for his 2017 campaign, which is highlighted by a first career title in Memphis. Cilic, though, has been playing with confidence when healthy and he has rarely had much trouble with Harrison.

Pick: Cilic in 2

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Richard Gasquet vs. (4) David Goffin

Goffin is making up for lost time after missing the grass-court swing and being hobbled throughout the American hard-court summer following a knee injury sustained at the French Open. The 11th-ranked Belgian captured the Shenzhen title last week and so far in Tokyo he has taken out Feliciano Lopez and Matthew Ebden–the latter via a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(1) decision on Thursday that required two hours and 20 minutes. Goffin is 11-2 in his last 13 matches dating back to the U.S. Open and he is contending for a London spot.

Shockingly, the No. 4 seed has never gone head-to-head with Gasquet, his Friday opponent. The 30th-ranked Frenchman is a decent 23-14 this year and he also captured a Challenger title last month in Szczecin. Taking his confidence back to the ATP level, Gasquet has impressive this week with straight-set defeats of Sam Querrey and Yen-Hsun Lu. With Goffin surely fatigued, this a good opportunity for Gasquet to score an even bigger win.

Pick: Gasquet in 3

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