U.S. Open QF previews and predictions: Wawrinka vs. Del Potro, Murray vs. Nishikori

The quarterfinals in the bottom half of the U.S. Open draw could not be much more intriguing, with three of the top-eight seeds joined by Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro is going up against Stan Wawrinka, while Andy Murray is facing Kei Nishikori.

(WC) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka and Del Potro will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers and at a second consecutive Grand Slam when they battle for a place in the U.S. Open semifinals on Wednesday. They met just recently in the second round of Wimbledon, where Del Potro pulled off a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 upset to win his fourth match in a row against Wawrinka and extend his head-to-head series lead to 4-2. Surprisingly, they have not faced each other a single time on a hard court.

The hard-court drought came dangerously close to being extended, as Wawrinka found himself one point away from defeat in a third-round battle with Dan Evans. The unseeded Brit had a match point in the fourth set but Wawrinka stormed back for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-2 victory. Not much has been routine at this event for the third-ranked Swiss, who has also advanced with wins over Fernando Verdasco, Alessandro Giannessi, and Illya Marchenko. Del Potro, on the other hand, has stormed through his part of the draw without dropping a set. The 2009 champion took care of Diego Schwartzman, Steve Johnson, and David Ferrer before getting a second-set retirement from Dominic Thiem. Thus continues a resurgent summer for Del Potro, who took out Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on his way to silver at the Rio Olympics. Based on current form and Del Potro’s history of success in this matchup, the Argentine’s run should make another giant leap forward.

Pick: Del Potro in 4

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(6) Kei Nishikori vs. (2) Andy Murray

Another rematch of a showdown from earlier in the summer will pit Murray against Nishikori on Wednesday. They recently collided in the semifinals of the Olympics, with Murray dominating 6-1, 6-4 to improve to 7-1 in the head-to-head series. In six of his seven victories the world No. 2 has refused to surrender even a single to Nishikori, but the lone exception came back in March and it was not one to be forgotten. In a first-round Davis Cup tilt between Great Britain and Japan, Murray secured the clinching point with a 7-5, 7-6(6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 triumph in front of the home crowd.

Murray’s 2016 campaign has been so impressive that Great Britain’s run back to the Davis Cup semifinals–after winning it all last year–has been almost lost among his accomplishments. This fortnight’s second seed is 54-7 with another Wimbledon title and a second consecutive gold medal in men’s singles. Murray, a recent runner-up in Cincinnati, has maintained his fine form in New York with defeats of Lukas Rosol, Marcel Granollers, Paolo Lorenzi, and Grigor Dimitrov. He stumbled at times in a four-set win over Lorenzi but picked up the pace to destroy Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday night. Nishikori has advanced by beating Benjamin Becker, Karen Khachanov, Nicolas Mahut, and Ivo Karlovic. The world No. 7 also raised his level on Monday to the tune of his first straight-set win of the fortnight. Unfortunately for Nishikori, this is not a good matchup for him and Murray is simply the best player on tour right now.

Pick: Murray in 4

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