Winston-Salem QF previews and picks: Janowicz vs. Goffin, Isner vs. Rosol

Jerzy JanowiczDavid Goffin takes his 25-match winning streak into the Winston-Salem quarterfinals on Thursday, when Jerzy Janowicz hopes to stop the in-form Belgian. John Isner and Lukas Rosol are also in action.

Jerzy Janowicz vs. (Q) David Goffin

Goffin will be looking to extend an incredible hot streak to 26 straight wins when he takes the court for quarterfinal action at the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday. The 62nd-ranked Belgian won three clay-court Challenger events in a row after Wimbledon and captured his first ATP title in Kitzbuhel before heading to the American hard courts. So far this week Goffin has successfully qualified for the main draw and posted wins over defending champion Jurgen Melzer, Hamburg winner Leonardo Mayer, and No. 15 seed Jarkko Nieminen.

Up next for the 23-year-old is a first-ever meeting with Janowicz, who earlier in the season had been almost as cold as Goffin is hot. Janowicz, who peaked at No. 13 in the world last summer, was a horrendous 13-18 for his 2014 campaign prior to Cincinnati. Suddenly, though, he is winning matches again. The 52nd-ranked Pole upset Grigor Dimitrov en route to the Cincinnati third round and he has scored Winston-Salem victories over Carlos Berlocq, Joao Sousa, and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Goffin’s speed–to counter the Janowicz drop-shot–and consistent ball-striking should make this a bad matchup for Janowicz, who will have to serve incredibly well in order to have a chance. But he double-faulted 10 times against Sousa and nine times versus Roger-Vasselin.

Pick: Goffin in 2

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(1) John Isner vs. (7) Lukas Rosol

Isner and Rosol will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. This is Isner’s real hometown tournament and he has never disappointed the fans. The American is 12-0 lifetime in Winston-Salem, with titles in 2011 and 2012 plus straight-set victories this week over Bradley Klahn and Mikhail Kukushkin. Isner, in the midst of by far his favorite part of the season, is 31-15 for the season and he registers at No. 15 in the world.

Rosol booked his spot in the quarterfinals after getting a retirement from Ryan Harrison (the American was leading by a set) and overcoming Pablo Andujar 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday. This is the first hard-court event of the summer for the 33rd-ranked Czech, who went back to clay after Wimbledon and finished runner-up in Stuttgart before three consecutive quarterfinal appearances. Rosol is playing decent tennis right now, but there is no reason to think he can beat Isner in the United States in the American’s virtual backyard.

Pick: Isner in 2

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38 Comments on Winston-Salem QF previews and picks: Janowicz vs. Goffin, Isner vs. Rosol

  1. Jerzy would have won this match in his late 2012 to mid 2013 form imo, but he’s been below par this season and Goffin does have the upper hand. However if Janowicz can execute his groundstrokes well he could outpower Goffin from the baseline.

    • i think Goffin will take away Jerzy’s timing. Hits it flat and deep; Jerzy will have a tough time playing aggressively and/or executing the drop-shot, even though he IS obviously the more powerful player.

  2. Janowicz is finding form again, he’ll win this in 3. Goffin’s had a great run and will perform admirably in the US Open, but he’ll drop this one.

  3. It’s hard to get involved in a tournament that one can’t watch. No ATP TennisTV coverage and so far I have failed to find a livestream that works for me.

    I would love to see the David v. Goliath match. Goffin will drive Jerzy nuts and most likely cause him to have a meltdown so Goffin in 3

    Isner in 2

  4. Whoa!!

    RT @ATPWorldTour: “2012 titlist @andy_murray, in @DjokerNole’s quarter at @USOpen, meets @robin_haase in 1R. “

  5. RT @christophclarey: “Isner, Kohlschreiber, Murray & Tsonga all in the struggling Djokovic’s quarter”

    Not to mention Wawa………………..

    They couldn’t possibly have rigged the draw for Fed, could they?

  6. RT @SI_Tennis: “Men’s projected QFs: Top half — Djokovic-Murray, Wawrinka-Raonic. Bottom half — Ferrer-Berdych, Federer-Dimitrov. #USOpen”

  7. RT @ptbodo: “USO dream draw for RF. bunch of stylish players (Fognini, Agut, Gasquet), plus old Karlovic. Monfils and Dimitrov toughest hurdles to semis.”

    Nod, nod………wink, wink………..

  8. Projected paths to the final:

    Muzza:
    Haase–> Qualifier or Stepanek–> Verdasco –>Tsonga –> Novak –> Wawrinka.

    Federer:
    Matosevic –> Groth or Ramos-Vinolas –> Karlovic –> Fognini –> Dimitrov –> Berdych or Ferrer?

    #NoleFam:
    Schwartzman –> Muller or Mathieu –> GGL or Querrey? –> Kohls or Isner? –> Tsonga or Murray? –> Wawrinka or Raonic?

    One of these things is not like the other!

    Basically, Fed will only have a real match to play in the Final.

    #NothingToSeeHere

  9. If Fed doesn’t oblige and win his 18th Slam with all the cupcake draws they are giving him, he should do the honourable thing and check himself into a home……………

  10. Wawa (in the Nole/Muzza half) has young guns Vesely, Kyrgios, Popsicle, Nishikori and Raonic plus last year’s Fed-Slayer T-Rob

    Nole has Muzza, Kohlschreiber, GGL, Isner, Tsonga, Bennetteau and Verdasco.

    Fed doesn’t have one credible threat in his quarter, LaMonf and BabyFed being the biggest threats.That is the biggest joke quarter of all time.

    Berdy threats: Cilic, Gulbis (but Berdy is in Fed’s half so had to keep that half soft overall).

    Fed to play on Day 1 evening match anyone?

    #TooEasy

  11. With Rafa out, I will be now placing my full support behind Novak Djokovic for the duration of his run at the USO. Nole is the player with the best chance to defeat Darth Federer and the evil Federazzi Empire. Anyone but Fed and his 18th. I don’t want this to happen.

    #AjdeNole
    #NoleFam
    #Idemoooooo
    #LetsDoThis

  12. RT @Ringham7: “@christophclarey That’s why draws can mold a player’s career. They say luck evens out. Not always”

    Good luck telling that to @Sanju and his karma……………..

    Federer is the so-called GOAT because of rigged draws and schedules, nothing lucky about his “luck”.

  13. RT @joyceeng61: “Did @PseudoFed do this draw? #excited #usopen”

    No, Fed’s friends in the “establishment” did…………

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