Washington, D.C. SF previews and picks: Del Potro vs. Haas, Isner vs. Tursunov

A mostly marquee semifinal lineup in Washington, D.C. features a Saturday showdown between Juan Martin Del Potro and Tommy Haas. John Isner and Dmitry Tursunov are also seeking a place in the title match.

(1) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (3) Tommy Haas

Del Potro and Haas will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they do battle in the semifinals of the Citi Open on Saturday. All four of their previous encounters–all on hard courts–have gone Del Potro’s way. The Argentine has never lost a set to Haas, having prevailed most recently at last summer’s Cincinnati Masters and again earlier this season in Indian Wells.

Both men are in outstanding form at the moment. Del Potro, ranked seventh in the world, reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and he has kicked off his U.S. Open Series campaign with straight-set disposals of Ryan Harrison, Bernard Tomic, and Atlanta runner-up Kevin Anderson. Haas, a semifinalist in Miami and a quarterfinal finisher at the French Open, earned his place in the Washington, D.C. semis with defeats of Tim Smyczek, Ivan Dodig, and Grigor Dimitrov. All three contests were extremely competitive. The 35-year-old will undoubtedly test his opponent, but their past history is glaring and combined with Del Potro’s current level of play, an upset would be too much of an ask for Haas.

Pick: Del Potro in 3

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Dmitry Tursunov vs. (8) John Isner

Isner and Tursunov will be facing each other for the first time in their careers. On paper, Isner is an obvious favorite in this one. The 6’9” American has always played his best on American hard courts and the 2013 summer is already no different. Following a grass-court semifinal in Newport, Isner captured the title last weekend in Atlanta and so far in Washington, D.C.–where he was the 2007 runner-up–he has dismissed Alex Kuznetsov, Somdev Devvarman, and Marcos Baghdatis.

Whereas the world No. 20’s appearance in the last four is no surprise, Tursunov has made a borderline shocking run. The 61st-ranked Russian, who has been plagued by physical problems in recent years, booked his spot in the semis thanks to victories over Jesse Levine, Gilles Simon, Radek Stepanek, and Marinko Matosevic. Tursunov, who had been 2-5 in his last seven ATP matches prior this tournament, beat Stepanek 7-5 in the third and Matosevic in a third-set tiebreaker, so he has a lot of miles on his tires this week. It also does not help the underdog that he has never seen the Isner serve up close and personal ever before in a real match.

Pick: Isner in 2

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