The ATP Toronto Open has not failed to entertain, as we have reached the business end of the competition. A Masters 1000 victory should certainly give the winner momentum in the tune-up to the Us Open. We have four men standing in the draw, and no one will be ready to give up on the efforts and try to go for the title.
ATP Toronto Semifinal Predictions
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Reilly Opelka
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 1-0 Opelka
Can we say that Stefanos Tsitsipas is back to his normal high level? Yes, we can, especially after the way he dismissed Casper Ruud and Karen Khachanov in his last two matches at the ATP Toronto Open. His backhand is as strong as ever. If it is perhaps not an elite shot, it is certainly strong enough. Particularly when he is also serving very well and defending well when he has needed to.
Reilly Opelka defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets to book a spot in his second Masters semifinal. Going by the seedings, it was an upset, but looking at the current form, Opelka was the favorite here. Hitting 18 aces and plundering winners, Opelka marched forward. However, despite Opelka being so effective behind his own serve, it wasn’t an easy win for him. He broke Bautista Agut’s serve — which is not regarded as one of the best — only once in the whole match.
This reflects the fact that Opelka’s successes so far have been largely due to his great serve. He has good groundstrokes, but probably not good enough to win a Masters tournament. Opelka and Tsitsipas have met once before, at the Cincinnati Open last year though there are few conclusions to be drawn from that contest as Opelka retired with the match evenly poised at a set all.
To win this match, the American will need to cover a lot of the court, not one of his strengths. He will also need to match Tsitsipas from the baseline – a tall order. If the Greek maintains the level he has shown so far this week – and indeed for much of this season – this should be a relatively easy win for Tsitsipas.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
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Daniil Medvedev vs John Isner
Head-to-head: Medvedev 1-0 Isner
Daniil Medvedev won an extremely close encounter against Hubert Hurkacz to come away with a victory that was nothing short of a heist. Medvedev struggled to hold serve, being broken twice in the first set to lose it 6-2. He didn’t manage to break Hurkacz even once in the match. Still, it was his calm nerves, and to be honest, his luck in the crucial points that got him through.
John Isner, meanwhile, came through a scrappy first set to oust the resurgent Gael Monfils in straight sets. Isner, even in the twilight of his career, hasn’t lost his trademark determination and has been playing some fine tennis, with his confidence seemingly boosted by his 7-6 7-6 win against Andrey Rublev in the third round.
However, his performance against Monfils was not particularly encouraging. There were several areas in which Isner simply wasn’t good enough in the quarterfinal. He had seven breakpoints, a respectable number, but he converted only one and he struggled to punish Monfils’ second serves throughout the match. He did have a good serving day, but he will probably need to improve even further against the Russian.
Especially because Medvedev blasted 23 aces in his quarterfinal, which made the difference against Hurkacz in the end, as he won two tiebreaks. Still this semifinal will principally be a battle between Isner’s serve and Medvedev’s return. The winner of that contest should win the match. Medvedev had an off day against Hurkacz, but still came on top. Against Isner, he will have to excel on return, but if he does then rest assured that he will make it to the final.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
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