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Ricky’s Tennis preview and picks for the Singapore Semifinals: Bublik vs. Albot and Cilic vs. Popyrin
- Updated: February 26, 2021

By Ricky Dimon
Alexei Popyrin is the only unseeded player remaining in Singapore
and he will try to keep his run going against Marin Cilic during semifinal
action on Saturday. Alexander Bublik and Radu Albot are also bidding for a
place in the title match.
Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions.
(6) Radu Albot vs. (4) Alexander Bublik
Bublik and Albot will be going head-to-head for the second time in their
careers (first on the main tour) when they collide in the Singapore Open
semifinals on Saturday. Their only previous encounter came five years ago at a
clay-court Challenger event in Russia, where Bublik prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. An
indoor setting will be more advantageous for the 46th-ranked Kazakh, who serves
huge and doesn’t like to play long points. Bublik is coming off a stellar 2020
campaign and he has remained in fine form with straight-set victories this week
over Altug Celikbilek and Yoshihito Nishioka.
Albot
did next to nothing last season but from out of nowhere he is playing well in
2021. The 76th-ranked Moldovan reached the third round of the Australian Open
and he is through to the Singapore semis thanks to defeats of John-Patrick
Smith, Yannick Hanfmann, and Adrian Mannarino. Albot has dropped two sets,
whereas Bublik’s set scores are 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, and 6-2. On this surface, a
red-hot fourth seed should have too much power for Albot.
Pick:
Bublik in 2
(3) Marin Cilic vs. Alexei Popyrin
Cilic is the owner of 18 ATP titles (including the 2014 U.S. Open) and has has
played in 32 finals. Popyrin has never advanced to a final at the tour level.
However, this should be a lot more competitive than those statistics suggest.
Cilic is well past his prime and has not captured a title or even been to a
final since lifting the Queen’s Club trophy in 2018. The 32-year-old Croat has
slumped to 44th in the rankings and he is still 4-8 in his last 12 matches
despite winning twice this week (d. Taro Daniel in straight sets and Soonwoo
Kwon in three).
Popyrin is outside the top 100 (No. 114), but he is undoubtedly on the rise and
will be back inside the top 100 if he beats Cilic. The 21-year-old Aussie won
three matches during the Australian summer–two at the Murray River Open and in
five sets over David Goffin at the Australian Open. So far in Singapore he has
ousted Christopher Eubanks, Adrian Andreev, and Matthew Ebden–surrendering just
one set to Andreev in the process. A more confident Popyrin has a great chance
of pulling off a minor upset.
Pick:
Popyrin in 3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.