After upsetting No. 1 seed Pablo Carreno Busta, Ilya Ivashka will be back on the court to face Emil Ruusuvuori in the Winston-Salem semifinals on Friday. Carlos Alcaraz and Mikael Ymer are also in action.
Ilya Ivashka vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
Ivashka and Ruusuvuori will be squaring off for the third time in their careers (second on the main tour) when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Winston-Salem Open on Friday night. Ruusuvori had home-court advantage for their first encounter and prevailed 7-6(4), 6-3 at a 2019 Challenger event in Finland, but Ivashka more recently cruised 6-1, 6-2 this spring on the red clay of Munich.
Climbing to a career-high ranking of No. 63, Ivashka eventually reached the Munich semis and he also reached the Eastbourne quarters, the Wimbledon fourth round, and third rounds at the Tokyo Olympics and in Washington, D.C. So far this week the Belarusian has ousted Andreas Seppi, Marin Cilic, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Pablo Carreno Busta. Ruusuvuori punched his ticket to a second U.S. Open Series semifinal (previously Atlanta) by beating Denis Kudla, Alexander Bublik, Benoit Paire, and Richard Gasquet. Based on their most recent result and Ivashka’s awesome form, he should have a slight edge in what will likely be a competitive contest.
Pick: Ivashka in 3
(15) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Mikael Ymer
Alcaraz’s rise has been steady over the past two seasons, but it could become meteoric sooner rather than later. Playing the best tennis of his young career, the 18-year-old Spaniard won his first ATP title last month in Umag and he may be on the brink of another in Winston-Salem. Alcaraz is through to the last four thanks to victories over Alexei Popyrin, Marton Fucsovics, and Marcos Giron. Previously doing damage in Futures and Challengers, Alcaraz has earned 18 of his 19 career ATP-level match victories in 2021.
Up next for the world No. 54 on Friday is Ymer, who took their only previous contest 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5) earlier this year at the Australian Open. Playing his first hard-court event of the summer, the 90th-ranked Swede has advanced with defeats of Stefano Travaglia, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Max Purcell, and Frances Tiafoe. Alcaraz is whole different beast more than six months following their first encounter and in relatively fast conditions he will likely blow Ymer off the court with his firepower.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
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Nice win for Ymer!…Ivashka in 3; Alcaraz in 2.
It’s a surprising semifinal result in Winston-Salem! I have not seen any of these players enough to know who to pick.