The quarter-finals of the 2019 European Open will be on Friday, October 18. Get the Stanislas Wawrinka v Giles Simon and Andy Murray v Marius Copil and other tips, previews and predictions below.
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Stanislas Wawrinka v Giles Simon Predictions & Preview
Veterans Stanislas Wawrinka and Giles Simon meet for the eighth time in their careers, with the Swiss leading the head-to-head 4-3. Their last meeting was three years ago at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, which was won by Simon.
Since his knee injury in 2017, former world number three Stanislas Wawrinka has never been the same player, with a 2018 full of injury relapses. This season has been better for the Swiss, who is now back in the top 20 in the world, was a quarter-finalist at the French and US Opens, and a finalist at the Rotterdam ATP 500. After a short break due to injury niggles, that caused him to miss the Asian swing, the Swiss is back on the tour this week and did well to come through a tricky win against Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez.
Frenchman Giles Simon fell out of the top 50 in the rankings for the first time in 12 years, in 2017. He has done well to come back to win two ATP titles in 2018, and was a finalist at the Queens Club ATP 500 this summer. Simon is back in the top 40 in the world and his confidence will be high after a convincing win against countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the previous round.
An exciting encounter in prospect that will be down to a few points; expect Simon to hone in on his good run of form and win in three sets.
Tip: Simon to win in three sets.
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Andy Murray v Marius Copil Predictions & Preview
This is the third meeting between Andy Murray and Marius Copil. The players have met twice so far with Murray winning on both occasions. Their last meeting was last year on the hard courts in Washington D.C. which Murray won in three sets.
Three-time grand slam champion and former world number one Murray continues his comeback from hip injury, and now holds a 7-7 singles record since his return in Cincinnati in August. He is in his second quarter-finals in recent weeks now, having been a quarter-finalist at the China Open in Beijing as well. Murray has increased in confidence every week and is looking good for a potential title run here this week.
Romanian Marius Copil had a good 2018, being the finalist at two ATP tournaments, including the Swiss Open ATP 500 where he lost to Roger Federer in the final at Basel. This season has not been the same for him, as he has fallen to just within the top 100 in the rankings. However, he looked good in his match against Diego Schwartzman and will look to carry that form forward.
While we may be in for an interesting match, with a lot to gain for both players, expect Murray to win this in two tight sets.
Tip: Murray to win in straight sets.
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Guido Pella v Ugo Humbert Predictions & Preview
Guido Pella and Ugo Humbert meet for the first time in their careers in the quarter-finals at the European Open in Antwerp.
It has been a career-best season for Pella, who is ranked in the top 20 for the first time in the world. The Argentine had a good clay season earlier in the year, during the LatAm clay swing, and surprised all with his Wimbledon performance where he was a quarter-finalist defeating former runner-ups Milos Raonic and Kevin Anderson en route. He has looked in good form this week against German Peter Gojowczyk and young Korean Soonwoo Kwon.
21-year old Frenchman Ugo Humbert is new to the tour but has done well to break into the top 70 in the ATP rankings. He was a semi-finalist at Marseille and made the second week of Wimbledon. Humbert pulled off a spectacular victory against home favorite David Goffin in the previous round here at Antwerp.
An exciting contest on the cards, where we can expect Humbert to play with plenty of confidence now. However, Pella is likely to continue his good form and clinch this in two tight sets.
Tip: Pella to win in straight sets.
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Frances Tiafoe v Jannik Sinner Predictions & Preview
In a clash of young prospects, Frances Tiafoe plays Jannik Sinner for the first time in his career.
21-year-old Tiafoe started the season with an Australian Open quarter-final showing and at the back of a strong 2018, where he won his first ATP title, he was all set to move up the rankings, having just broken into the top 30. However, it has not been much of a season for him and he has dropped to world number 53. Tiafoe has looked in good form this week and will look for a deep run to cement his spot at the Next Gen Tour Finals in Milan early next month.
Little known Jannik Sinner is in his first full season on the tour and the 18-year-old surprised all by upsetting top seed Gael Monfils in straight sets in the previous round. Incidentally, Monfils and Goffin, the top two seeds, both lost on the same day to rising lesser known ‘Next Gen’ players.
Despite the big win by Sinner, Tiafoe will start as the more experienced favorite and should make the semi-finals in straight sets.
Tip: Tiafoe to win in straight sets.
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