No. 1 seed Roberto Bautista Agut is the last of 16 seeds still standing in Winston-Salem heading into semifinal action on Friday. Bautista Agut is facing Jan-Lennard Struff, while Kyle Edmund is going up against Damir Dzumhur.
(1) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
Bautista Agut was the Winston-Salem Open runner-up in 2016 and he is looking like the probable champion 12 months later. The top-seeded Spaniard is a stellar 37-15 this season and he is showing no signs of slowing down going into the U.S. Open. So far this week Bautista Agut has disposed of Dusan Lajovic, Marcos Baghdatis, and Taylor Fritz all in straight sets.
Up next for the world No. 15 on Friday is a second career contest against Struff, who got blown out 6-1, 6-3 in their only previous encounter a few months ago on the clay courts of Barcelona. The 56th-ranked German should have a slightly better chance on a faster surface, as he can keep points shorter with his big serve and forehand. Still, his four Winston-Salem opponents–Norbert Gombos, Pablo Cuevas, Andreas Seppi, and Borna Coric–are not currently at the level that Bautista Agut is displaying. The favorite should not have much trouble breaking down Struff from the back of the court.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 2
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(Q) Kyle Edmund vs. Damir Dzumhur
Edmund and Dzumhur will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Friday. Dzumur got the best of their only previous meeting via a 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision at the 2016 Australian Open. Edmund has already endured several difficult matches in Winston-Salem, which is not entirely surprising given that he has already played six. The 22-year-old Brit is ranked high enough (45th) to have earned a first-round bye in the main draw, but instead he had to go through qualifying because he signed up late. Edmund took care of Max Purcell and Jonathan Eysseric before parlaying that success into main-draw defeats of Thomas Fabbiano, Daniil Medvedev (8-6 in a third-set tiebreaker), Marton Fucsovics, and Steve Johnson (5-7, 6-3, 6-3).
Dzumhur is through to his second semifinal of the season–and of the month (previously in Los Cabos)–after beating Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, Horacio Zeballos, and Hyeon Chung. The world No. 67 from Bosnia and Herzegovina now boasts a winning record (19-18) at the ATP level this season. Dzumhur is playing well, but none of his first four opponents were players who could push him around the court with bigtime offensive firepower. Edmund will be able to do that with his forehand.
Pick: Edmund in 3
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WWW?
RBA in 2 and Edmund in 2
RBA and Dzumhur in three.
Edmund powerful but has had a lot of three setters,Dzumhur can frustrate into errors.
Same for RBA ,
Big AL, congrats on your correct prediction of a “Dzumhur win in 3”. I bet big on my no.1 bet of Over and No.2 of Dzhumur +3 and won big.
Did you bet on your great “Dzumhur win” pick?
wowzer
classic week-before-a-slam bizarreness
Yeah,even I got one right?
Not a betting man,just went with gut. Didn’t get to watch the match but felt confident Zummer was going to win .
Now,Edmund v Haase first round,that won’t be easy.
RBA and Edmund in three
RBA and Either in three
Leaning on Dzumhur to win as I am worried about the Shoulder Injury of Edmund which could have swollen after the match. With an injured shoulder, Kyle’s serve and return strokes will be ineffective/blunted and Dzumhur will move in for the kill like the Hyenas(Dzumhur) on an injured Lion(Edmund)!lol
Does anybody have info. or say with 1000% confidence that Edmund’s shoulder is fine and will not affect his match.
With Dzum having the better momentum and form on hard I lean 51% on the Bosnian to pull out a hard fought win. Besides, Edmund is tiring from playing 6 matches in 6 days!
TIREDNESS+INJURY ISSUES=AUTOMATIC FADE in my Betting Rule Dictionary. But is Edmund an exception to this rule?
Does anybody have info. or say with 1000% confidence that Edmund’s shoulder is fine and will not affect his match.
Can anybody quickly reply with assurance about Edmund’s shoulder?
I would like to bet after I receive this Info.
M(Money Mayweather), what are your picks for today for ATP and WTA?
Has anybody seen Stanley? Not heard from him for a week.
Where are you Stanley bro?lol
RBA in 2;….edmund in 2.
“who could push him around the court with big time offensive firepower. Edmund will be able to do that with his forehand. Edmund in 3.”
“will”, sure lol.
BTW, i don’t think you necessarily need offensive firepower to beat Dzumhur.