Winston-Salem SF previews and predictions: Carreno Busta vs. Johnson, Medvedev

Friday’s Winston-Salem semifinals feature one all-seeded showdown and one all-unseeded contest. Former champion Pablo Carreno Busta is facing Steve Johnson, while Daniil Medvedev is going up against Taro Daniel.

(8) Steve Johnson vs. (2) Pablo Carreno Busta

Carreno Busta and Johnson will be meeting of for the fourth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they battle for a spot in the final of the Winston-Salem Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Carreno Busta, who has won each of their 2018 encounters; 6-4, 6-4 on the hard courts of Miami and 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on the red clay of Rome. Johnson’s lone victory came three years ago at the hard-court event in Auckland, where he got the job done 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1.

With three wins down and two to go, Carreno Busta is nearing a second title in Winston-Salem (previously triumphed in 2016). The 12th-ranked Spaniard picked up momentum by reaching the Cincinnati quarters and so far this week he has defeated Franko Skugor, Peter Gojowyczk, and Hyeon Chung. Johnson earned his place in the semis thanks to straight-set victories over Tommy Paul, Jaume Munar, and Kyle Edmund. The 34th-ranked American was especially impressive against Edmund on Thursday, dropping a total of three games. In his current form, Johnson–a recent champion in Newport–should also benefit from home-court advantage and keep his run going.

Pick: Johnson in 3

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Daniil Medvedev vs. Taro Daniel

Daniel has been incredibly clutch en route to the Winston-Salem semifinals. The world No. 76, who plays under the Japanese flag but was born in the United States and also resides there, is a perfect 4-0 in tiebreakers this week. He beat John Millman 6-4, 7-6(7) in his opener, scraped past Sam Querrey 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) in the second round, edged Dominik Koepfer 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to reach the quarters, and overcame Nicolas Jarry 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday.

Up next for Daniel on Friday is a second career contest against Medvedev, who won their only previous meeting 7-6(5), 6-2 at a clay-court Challenger tournament in Bordeaux, France two years ago. Medvedev has been dominant in Winston-Salem, refusing to lose even a single set while ousting Mirza Basic, Alex de Minaur, Guido Andreozzi, and Ryan Harrison–playing only one tiebreaker against Harrison. The 57th-ranked Russian is a stellar 24-17 in 2018 and has certainly continued his fine form this week.

Pick: Medvedev in 2

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