Lob and Smash
Fansided

Predictions for Thursday’s quarterfinals in Parma

By Justin Gincauskas

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 05: Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan returns a shot in his round of 32 match against Casper Ruud of Norway on day seven of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at La Caja Magica on May 05, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 05: Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan returns a shot in his round of 32 match against Casper Ruud of Norway on day seven of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at La Caja Magica on May 05, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The quarterfinals of the Emilia-Romagna Open ATP 250 event are set to take place Thursday in Parma. Although it is not a tournament with top 10 or even top 20 stars in the sport, there are some familiar names still in the tournament. Richard Gasquet, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Sebastian Korda will all be in action in Thursday’s quarterfinal matches.

The top three seeds in the tournament all fell on Wednesday, as Sebastian Korda defeated the one seed Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets, Jamune Munar advanced as the two seed Benoit Paire retired in the second set, and Norbert Gombos beat the three seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas is a tight three setter.

With the matchups set for Thursday’s quarterfinals, here are my predictions on who will advance to the semis.

1st match: Richard Gasquet vs Jaume Munar

This will be the first career meeting between the two, as Gasquet currently sits at number 51 in the world rankings, while Jaume Munar sits at number 80. 10 years separate the two, as Gasquet turns 35 in just a few weeks while Munar is just 24 years old. I believe the experience will benefit Gasquet in this first meeting, and I also believe Gasquet is the better player currently.

Prediction: Gasquet in 3 sets

2nd match: Marco Cecchinato vs Norbet Gombos

Most will remember Cecchinato from 2018, where he made a deep run all the way to the semis of the French Open, defeating Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Since cracking the top 20 in the rankings, he has really fallen off, and now sits at 104 in the world rankings. Gombos already leads the head-to-head between the two 1-0, beating Cecchinato in last year’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris in straight sets. I like the way Gombos is playing coming into this match, especially after a big win against a great clay court player in Ramos-Vinolas earlier Wednesday.

Prediction: Gombos in straight sets

3rd match: Jan-Lennard Struff vs Tommy Paul

I believe this will be the best match out of the four played Thursday. These two are both evenly matched, and this will be the first time they play each other on the ATP tour. Both had tight three set matches on Wednesday, so I expect both to be a little tired coming into Thursday’s match. However, Stuff received a bye in the first round, so I believe that he will be a lot fresher and that will play a factor in this match if it goes three sets. I believe whoever wins the first set, will win the match.

Prediction: Stuff in straight sets

4th match: Sebastian Korda vs Yoshihito Nishioka

Only three spots separate these two in the world rankings, as Korda sits at number 63, while Nishioka is at 60 in the world. I believe a big thing to watch in this match is the height difference between the two. Korda stands at 6’ 5”, while Nishioka is just 5’ 7”. I believe that will be some sort of factor in the match, and other than the serve, should actually benefit Nishioka more on the clay. With longer points, Nishioka should try to move Korda as much as possible throughout the match.

Prediction: Nishioka in 3 sets

Home/Opinion