In what began as one of the best 500-point fields ever, Andrey Rublev is the last seed remaining. Rublev will try to keep it going against Kevin Anderson, while an even more surprising semifinal features Dan Evans and Lorenzo Sonego.
Kevin Anderson vs. (5) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Anderson will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the second time this fall when they battle for a spot in the Erste Bank Open final on Saturday. They have split their two previous encounters, although the only one worth discussing just came at the French Open–where Rublev dominated 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 (the Russian was only 18 years old when Anderson won a tight four-setter at the 2015 U.S. Open).
Although an indoor hard court gives Anderson a better chance than clay, there is no situation in which anyone would want to face Rublev right now. The 23-year-old is up to No. 8 in the world thanks to a 37-7 record this season that includes four titles. So far in Vienna he has eased past Norbert Gombos, Jannik Sinner (via retirement), and Dominic Thiem without dropping a set. Anderson has done extremely well to beat Dennis Novak (saved three match points), Pablo Carreno Busta, and Daniil Medvedev, but he has not been to an ATP since January of 2019 (Pune). The South African’s drought is not going to end at the expense of Rublev.
Pick: Rublev in 2
(LL) Lorenzo Sonego vs. Dan Evans
Sonego lost in the final round of Vienna qualifying. Five days later, he finds himself in the semifinals at the best 500-point tournament of the season with a win over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Sure, Djokovic was out of sorts on Friday; still, Sonego was awesome in his 6-2, 6-1 beatdown of the top-seeded Serb. The 42nd-ranked Italian, who got into the main draw when Diego Schwartzman withdrew, preceded that shocking result with straight-set defeats of Dusan Lajovic and Hubert Hurkacz.
It is never easy to follow up such a big moment one match and even one day later, and Evans will make it especially difficult. The in-form Brit is coming off a semifinal showing in Antwerp and is now in the Vienna semis thanks to victories over Aljaz Bedene, Jurij Rodionov, and Grigor Dimitrov. His trek through unseeded opponents will likely continue against Sonego, who hits a bigger than his opponent but will have trouble with Evans’ backhand slice.
Pick: Evans in 2
WWW?
I guess NoVax just “wasn’t in the mood” today…
For someone who’s done a lot of winning this year, he’s sure screwed up a lot. Wonder who’s going to get the Sportsmanship award this year? Thiem, maybe? Rafa really hasn’t played much and Roger hasn’t played since the AO.
Why not give it to a lesser player ?
Would work for me. Anyone stand out?
These matches could go either way but I’ll run with these
Sonego in 3
Rublev in 3
I think a 62 61 beat down of Djokovic is stronger form than a 3 set victory over Dimitrov but there’s no much separating these 2 I think.
I alsothink the Medevdev and PCB form line might be a bit suspect so Rublev should get the win there but would not be surprised if K Anderson won. He’s close to his best again and his best is more than capable of dishing out a 2-zip win over Rublev in any form.
Just a reminder to anyone that has forgotten. Kevin Anderson is USO finalist and has beaten Djokovic twice and Federer at Wimbledon.
And Wimby finalist .
Sonego keeps rolling…in 3; Rublev just too good right now…in 2…..and Thiem for Smanship award.
Agree with your post Scoot!
Rublev was no match for Kevin’s poor knees. Good job this week for him tho.
Rublev vs Songego or Evans Final should be good.
Bookies are kidding themselves giving 7/1 for Anderson to win in 3 sets.
Sonego has to be the most underrated player on tour. This guy has a big future.
The reason sonego can go a long way is because he loves the game and the competition. A lot of players have similar talent but cant crack the top 100 because they dont have that same love for the game.
Sonego gives 110% when he’s on the court.
Maybe. But there’s got to be easier ways of making a living than the Challenger tour. But there’s an old story about David Ferrer getting really discouraged in his youth, decided he just couldn’t cut it, hung up his racket, got the only job he could find, carrying bricks for construction. After three days he decided to give tennis another shot… No one ever accused Ferrer of a lack of effort on court! He never won a major, although he might have won Roland Garros if Nadal and Federer hadn’t been around, but he retired as one of the most highly respected players ever by his fellow players.