Two semi-final picks from Winston-Salem today, with temperatures pushing 89°F and a decent chance of rain hanging over the session. Should be a sweaty afternoon out there, and both matches have enough going on to make them worth watching. Let's get into it.
Winston-Salem Open Predictions
James Duckworth vs Arthur Fery
Head-to-head: Duckworth 2-1 Fery
That H2H actually favors Duckworth, and it's not a small sample, so you can't completely ignore it. But ranking tells a real story here, and Fery at 37 in the world has genuinely been playing some of the best tennis of his career this summer, while Duckworth at 79 has been a perfectly solid tour-level player without ever threatening this stage of a tournament consistently.
The heat and the hard court should flatten things out a bit and keep rallies shorter and I think that slightly favors Fery's cleaner ball-striking. Duckworth will compete and make him work for it, and with that H2H in mind I wouldn't be shocked if this goes three, but Fery is the better player right now and should get through.
Prediction: Fery in 3
Ignacio Buse vs Benjamin Bonzi
Head-to-head: First meeting
Buse has been one of the more quietly impressive players on tour this year and getting to a Masters-level semi-final at 36 in the world feels like a player hitting his ceiling at exactly the right moment. Bonzi at 109 is ranked 73 spots below him, and while the Frenchman can be dangerous on a good day, making a semi-final run from that ranking means he's caught some favorable draws along the way.
Buse in three feels right here, all things considered. That said, Bonzi might nick a set if he's serving well and hitting clean off the forehand, but over the course of a match Buse is just the more complete player at this point in their careers.
Prediction: Buse in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Scott Stuart/ZUMA Press Wire