Ricky’s Preview & Picks For Queen’s Club Tennis • Auger-Aliassime vs. Lopez And Medvedev vs. Simon

Feliciano Lopez of Spain reacts during his quarter final match against Milos Raonic of Canada at the Fever Tree Championship at Queen’s Club in London, Britain, 21 June 2019. EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER

 

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

There will be an amazing combined age difference of 30 years in the Fever-Tree Championships semifinals, which take place on Saturday. It’s 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez against 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime, plus Gilles Simon (34) against Daniil Medvedev (23).

 

Will the old guys prevail or will the younger generation get it done; or one of each? Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions.

 

(8) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (WC) Feliciano Lopez

Lopez has been enjoying success on grass as long as Auger-Aliassime has been alive. Auger-Aliassime has been enjoying success on grass for the last 11 days. But those 11 days may be enough to make the Canadian the title favorite heading into the semifinals. He is up to No. 21 in the rankings and climbing, with a runner-up performance last week in Stuttgart–the first grass-court event of his pro career–followed by impressive Queen’s Club wins at the expense of Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios, and Stefanos Tstisipas.

Lopez captured the title at this tournament in 2017 and he is turning back the clock as a wild card ranked No. 113 in the world with victories over Marton Fucsovics and Milos Raonic (plus a second-round walkover from Juan Martin Del Potro). The Spaniard had previously been 3-8 on the main tour in 2019, but grass has always been just what the doctor ordered to get his game in gear. On any other surface this would likely be a rout; this one will be at least somewhat competitive, but a huge edge in current form goes to Auger-Aliassime.

Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 2

 

(4) Daniil Medvedev vs. Gilles Simon

Medvedev and Simon will be facing each other for the second time in their careers. Their only previous meeting came two years ago on the red clay of Lyon, where Simon got the job done 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2. Since then, however, Medvedev has soared into prominence. The Russian has climbed to No. 13 in the world and he will be sixth in the race to the Nitto ATP Finals in London following this week. Medvedev has bounced back from a brief slump by defeating Fernando Verdasco, Lucas Pouille, and Diego Schwartzman.

Although Simon has been going in the other direction in recent seasons, he has remained relevant enough to snag a seed at Wimbledon. The 38th-ranked Frenchman accomplished that feat by outlasting compatriot Nicolas Mahut 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(3) on Friday, when a loss would have left him unseeded at the All-England Club. Simon preceded that result with three-set defeats James Ward (also in a deciding tiebreaker) and Kevin Anderson. Simon has to be somewhat fatigued, and this probably isn’t a great matchup for him even at 100 percent.

Pick: Medvedev in 2

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.