By Tony Fairbairn
- Alexander Zverev [2] v Jannik Sinner [9]
- Stefanos Tsitsipas [3] v Diego Schwartzman [12]
- Hubert Hurkacz [11] v Grigor Dimitrov
- Taylor Fritz [10] v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – Opportunity awaits top 10 players and clay-court outsiders on men’s quarter-finals day at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.
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Alexander Zverev [2] v Jannik Sinner [9] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Alexander Zverev [2] v Jannik Sinner [9] | H2H: Zverev leads 2-1 |
| ATP Monte-Carlo | Monte-Carlo, Monaco |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €136,225 |
| Third on Court Rainier III (14:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Alexander Zverev seems to have picked up momentum this week with his latest victory over Pablo Carreno Busta displaying his confidence in shot-making from the back of the court. Now Zverev looks to capitalise on this momentum as he looks to take this opportunity and finally win a title in 2022. Should the German win the title this week it could be a massive springboard for bigger success over this clay-court season.
Standing in his way in the last eight is Jannik Sinner after the Italian powered past last year’s runner-up Andrey Rublev in a gripping match. Sinner is starting to show his consistency at masters 1000 level, constantly reaching the latter stages of tournaments. A semi-final in Monaco could send out a huge statement of intent on the road to Roland Garros as he looks to cement his status as one of the dark horses for Paris.
Although Sinner is hitting the ball cleanly this week, the Italian did show physical frailty in his match against Rublev and that could cost him here. Zverev has been hitting the ball cleanly so far and that shouldn’t change here with the high-bouncing ball working in the German’s favour. It should go the distance but Zverev’s experience will put him into the semi-finals here.
Prediction: Zverev in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas [3] v Diego Schwartzman [12] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Stefanos Tsitsipas [3] v Diego Schwartzman [12] | H2H: Schwartzman leads 2-1 |
| ATP Monte-Carlo | Monte-Carlo, Monaco |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €136,225 |
| Fourth on Court Rainier III (16:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas hasn’t had all his own way so far in Monaco and his latest win over Laslo Djere shows that there is still work to if he wants to contend for Roland Garros. Now Tsitsipas looks to show in the latter stages of the tournament why he is the best suited for a grand slam run outside of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as he looks to win his first ATP title in 11 months.
Next for Tsitsipas is Diego Schwartzman with the Argentinian working his way into form, battling to a three set victory over Lorenzo Musetti. Schwartzman, a former Roland Garros quarter-finalist, will look to give plenty of top players problems over the next six weeks as he looks to gain momentum towards the second grand slam of the year and more importantly climb up the rankings.
Schwartzman does lead the head-to-head record but Tsitsipas won their only meeting on clay and that should be the same outcome in this contest. The high-rising ball allows Tsitsipas to be aggressive and take a lot of risks with maximum success. Should the Greek fail to improve his level though this match could be a nervy affair.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in three sets.
Hubert Hurkacz [11] v Grigor Dimitrov H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Hubert Hurkacz [11] v Grigor Dimitrov | H2H: Dimitrov leads 1-0 |
| ATP Monte-Carlo | Monte-Carlo, Monaco |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €136,225 |
| Second on Court Rainier III (12:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Hubert Hurkacz has bounced back well after his disappointment of not defending his Miami title and has turned into one of the most reliable and consistent players on the ATP tour. Hurkacz hasn’t had the best success on the clay in the past but is looking to change all that this week as he has a big opportunity to reach the biggest clay court final of his career.
Next for Hurkacz will be Grigor Dimitrov who produced one of his special trademark performances to defeat Casper Ruud in a big upset on the clay. The Bulgarian has often had trouble translating his success on hard courts or grass courts into his clay court form but seems to be figuring things out at the right time. Can Dimitrov now produce some consistency as he looks to take a golden opportunity this week?
This should be a thrilling match with both players athletic ability in defensive play being world class. This match-up will suit Dimitrov more but there is very little to separate these two players with a place in the last four on the line.
Prediction: Dimitrov in three sets.
Taylor Fritz [10] v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Taylor Fritz [10] v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | H2H: Davidovich Fokina leads 1-0 |
| ATP Monte-Carlo | Monte-Carlo, Monaco |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €136,225 |
| First on Court Rainier III (10:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Taylor Fritz could have been overwhelmed after winning his first masters 1000 title at Indian Wells last month. However the talented American has done exactly the opposite and after a tricky opening match has impressed this week on the clay to reach the last eight. Fritz is the only top 10 seed left in the top half of the draw and will want to capitalise on this opportunity on potentially winning a second masters 1000 title in the space of a month.
Next for Fritz is Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who is having a dream tournament having beaten Novak Djokovic in the second round and then backing that up against Marrakech champion David Goffin. The Spaniard unique style of play with over-committed levels of athleticism have made him a joy to watch and effective player on clay. Now Davidovich Fokina looks to continue to pull of the upsets.
This match could be a close one to call with both players having good levels of belief and confidence in their game. However Davidovich Fokina is playing some incredible tennis and it wouldn’t be a shock if the Spaniard could knock out another seed here with his unique style of play.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in three sets.
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