An extremely interesting quarter-final clash in Houston sees 4th seed and defending champion Jack Sock take on the in form 7th seed Marcos Baghdatis face off for a place in the semi-finals at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships. This match will be the final match on Stadium court, taking place at around 20:00 Houston Time (02:00 UK Time), and the winner will face 1st seed John Isner or Hyeon Chung in the final four.
Neither man has dropped a set in Houston so far, though Sock has an advantage of receiving a bye in the first round. The American was well rested coming into the second round and her was fairly comfortable as he eased past qualifier Michael Barton without too much difficult; he will be pretty confident after that. Baghdatis has had to play an extra match though that will not affect him too much. The Cypriot didn’t concede a game to Diego Schwartzman in the first round and was comfortable against Fernando Verdasco in the second r0und; he too will be confident coming into this.
Neither of the two are massively strong clay court players, so it will be interesting to see who is able to take the other out of their comfort zone the first. Sock will, however, have positive memories of winning the title and that could help him, though he will need to serve pretty well against a good returner. The American must also look to try and take every opportunity he gets on the Cypriot’s serve, as Baghdatis may not give him too many, and Sock must also look to try and dictate play with his forehand, probably his strongest shot. Baghdatis must also serve well in this clash, though the 7th seed should also look to attack Sock’s game as much as possible, and could look to move the American around court; Baghdatis is arguably the better mover of the two.
The two have never met before, so it will be interesting to see who will be able to get used to the others game the quickest. Both men are playing well in Houston and Sock will have the crowd behind him, though Baghdatis has been playing particularly well this week and it seems if he could edge this clash.
Prediction: Baghdatis in 3
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