David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet faced each other in the fourth round of last year’s U.S. Open. Now they are set for a quarterfinal clash on Wednesday, with the winner to go up against either Rafael Nadal or Tommy Robredo.
David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they do battle in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Ferrer is dominating the head-to-head series 9-1, including 6-1 on hard courts. Their most recent encounter came at none other than last year’s U.S. Open, where Ferrer won a fourth-round meeting 7-5, 7-6(2), 6-4.
The fourth-ranked Spaniard is through to his eighth consecutive Grand Slam final thanks to victories over Nick Kyrgios, Roberto Bautista Agut, Mikhail Kukushkin, and Janko Tipsarevic. Ferrer had been dismal since losing to Juan Martin Del Potro in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, with early-round setbacks in both Montreal and Barcelona. Still, though, the 31-year-old is an outstanding 46-14 for the season.
Gasquet is a similarly impressive 38-14 for the year, which features titles in Doha and Montpellier plus a semifinal run in Miami. The ninth-ranked Frenchman reached the quarters at the Montreal Masters and he has remained in fine form in New York. Gasquet booked his spot in the last eight with defeats of Michael Russell, Stephane Robert, Dmitry Tursunov, and Milos Raonic. He needed four hours and 40 minutes on Monday night to outlast Roanic 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5.
Given his past struggles in this matchup, Gasquet would obviously have to be 100 percent in order to have any chance in this one. Coming off the thriller against Raonic is not a good sign, and Ferrer is about as good as it gets when it comes to pouncing on opponents who may not be moving quite at their best.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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