Vienna R2 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Gasquet, Carreno Busta vs. Schwartzman

Dominic Thiem will continue his Vienna campaign when he takes the court against Richard Gasquet on Thursday. Hoping to join Thiem in London, Pablo Carreno Busta will meet Diego Schwartzman.

Richard Gasquet vs. (2) Dominic Thiem

Thiem and Gasquet will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Erste Bank Open quarterfinals on Thursday. Their only previous showdown came during this same week of the 2015 campaign–but in Basel instead of Valencia, with Gasquet getting the job done 7-6(1), 6-4. Fast forward two years and Thiem, of course, is a whole different beast now. The sixth-ranked Austrian is set to make a repeat appearance at the World Tour Finals and he is already a two-time French Open semifinalist at 24 years old. As usual, however, Thiem has cooled off since the end of the clay-court swing. Vienna’s No. 1 seed is just 11-11 in his last 22 tournament matches and he lost his opener at three consecutive tournaments this fall before defeating Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday.

Gasquet, on the other hand, has been in solid form since the U.S. Open. The 32nd-ranked Frenchman has strengthened his position for 2018 Australian Open seeding with back-to-back quarterfinal performances in Tokyo and Shanghai preceded by a Challenger title in Poland. Gasquet improved to 27-16 at the ATP level in 2017 by rolling over Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3 on Monday. With Thiem struggling and having never played particularly well on home soil, this is a good opportunity for a confident Gasquet.

Pick: Gasquet in 3

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(4) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Diego Schwartzman

Carreno Busta and Schwartzman will also be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Thursday. They just recently faced each other on a much grander stage, as Carreno Busta cruised past a hobbled Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals–by far the biggest match in both players’ careers. Having also reached the French Open quarters in addition to his semifinal performance in New York, Carreno Busta is in serious contention for a London spot (currently eighth in the race among active players). The 11th-ranked Spaniard is 36-22 at the ATP level this season following a 6-2, 7-6(7) defeat of Guido Pella on Tuesday.

In the midst of an amazing year in his own right, Schwartzman advanced on Wednesday by beating Fabio Fognini 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. The 26th-ranked Argentine owns a 37-26 record in 2017 that includes a runner-up performance last week in Antwerp–his second consecutive second-place finish at that tournament. Schwartzman is 8-3 in three fall events with losses only to David Goffin, Roger Federer, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. His hot streak should continue against an opponent who has cooled off since leaving New York.

Pick: Schwartzman in 2

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