Viktor Troicki will aim for his biggest win of his comeback when he goes up against Andy Murray in the Vienna semifinals on Saturday. David Ferrer and Philipp Kohlschreiber are also in action.
(Q) Viktor Troicki vs. (2) Andy Murray
Murray and Troicki will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Erste Bank Open title match on Friday. All five of their previous encounters have gone Murray’s way, including two on hard courts. They have not faced each other indoors since their first meeting in 2008–won by Murray 6-3, 6-3 in St. Petersburg–and their most recent encounter came two years ago on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, resulting in a 6-0, 6-3 decision.
Troicki’s resurgent comeback from a one-year suspension is one win away from putting him back in the top 100 after just three months. The Serb already owns two ATP quarterfinals and is now through to a semifinal following victories over Victor Estrella Burgos, Lukas Rosol, and Thomaz Bellucci. He also had to qualify just to get into the main draw. Murray has advanced with routine defeats of Vasek Pospisil and Jan-Lennard Struff. The 11th-ranked Scot will be well-rested and determined for additional points to boost his World Tour Finals chances. An indoor hard court will only help that effort.
Pick: Murray in 2
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(1) David Ferrer vs. (4) Philipp Kohlschreiber
Kohlschreiber and Ferrer will be facing each other for the 12th time in their careers and for the second time this season on Saturday. Ferrer leads the head-to-head series 8-3 after surviving an absolute thriller this summer in Cincinnati, where Kohlschreiber had two match points in the second set only to go down 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4). The 32-year-old Spaniard has won six of their eight previous hard-court clashes.
It appears that Kohlschreiber is slowly getting over a shoulder injury that has plagued him throughout the fall swing. The 23rd-ranked German lost early in two European events and skipped the Asian schedule, but so far in Vienna he has scraped past Carlos Berlocq and Benjamin Becker. Ferrer earned his place in the last four with straight-set victories at the expense of Tobias Kamke and Ivo Karlovic. Always an underrated performer on indoor hard courts, Ferrer is by far the toughest opponent Kohlschreiber will have faced since the U.S. Open.
Pick: Ferrer in 2
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Having drawn ahead of Ferrer in the Race to London should help focus Murray’s mind on the task in hand.
Murray in 2
Ferrer has not been at his best all year and is looking weary. He will battle past Kohlbi though.
Ferrer in 3