Grand Prix Hassan II, Marrakech, Morocco, ATP 250

[britbox]

Quarter Final Line Up

Albert Montanes v Facundo Bagnis
Borna Coric v Paul-Henri Mathieu
Pablo Carreno Busta v Federico Delbonis
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez v Jiri Vesely

 

[britbox]

On paper, GGLopez v. Almagro might have been the toughest match available in the tournament. Tough 2nd round, and good job by GGL. I'll be interest to see GGL v Coric, if they get there. The top half looks the more likely to hold the trophy. I'd wager either Carreño Busta or Bagnis gets out of that half to the final.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of Coric... he's got to the Quarters without playing a match.

 

[Moxie]

It's a gift, at this point. Helps with the ranking points, and I don't think it hurts him. He's more used to not playing than playing-himself-into a tournament, at the ATP level. I hope he capitalizes on what is a pretty good opportunity. Not least because JLLB is such a fan.

 

[Bert]

Carreno Busta has very weak records against lefties (4w / 14l). He has lost 3 times against Delbonis and I don't think he will beat him today. If he wins, he will probably play Bagnis another lefty who played essentially on Challenger Tour but with 27w / 5l exclusively on clay...
My feeling is Delbonis or Bagnis to win Marrakech.

 

[Moxie]

Fine. Side-bet, then. I don't think the bottom half wins the title. I think either Coric or GGL. $5 friendly.

 

[Bert]

Challenge accepted !

 

[britbox]

Coric and Mathieu on court now. 3-3 first set.

 

[britbox]

Mathieu takes the first set running off 6 straight points in the breaker when 2-6 down.

 

[britbox]

Coric breaks to go 4-2 up in the second.

 

[britbox]

Coric has a solid game from the back of the court... doesn't change things up much... does what he knows best. I've got small bucks on Coric to win this, but the match is nicely balanced in the decider at 1-1. More pressure on Mathieu's service game though than vice versa.

 

[britbox]

Coric takes the decider 6-4.

 

[Bert]

It was a nice match to watch. It was Coric first match there and maybe he needed few games to get into it. I found that Mathieu played well, hope he will do a good clay season. This guy has a amazing story and this is great to see him playing after all he went through.

 

[Moxie]

Good on Coric. GGLopez went out. @Bert: you were right about Carreño Busta, who lost to Delbonis. But Bagnis went out to Montañés, so we've both got a 50-50 shot at our little side bet.

 

[Bert]

Good on Coric. GGLopez went out. @Bert: you were right about Carreño Busta, who lost to Delbonis. But Bagnis went out to Montañés, so we've both got a 50-50 shot at our little side bet.

Yeah Surprising how Carreno Busta struggles against lefties, isn't it ? Still think Delbonis could lift the trophy, Vesely-Coric will be interesting to watch.

 

[Moxie]

You pegged that one. Not just because of self-interest, I like Montañés tomorrow against Delbonis. And I do want Coric to do well, because I'm pulling for the young guns. The tension builds....

 

[Bert]

You pegged that one. Not just because of self-interest, I like Montañés tomorrow against Delbonis. And I do want Coric to do well, because I'm pulling for the young guns. The tension builds....

What do you think about Coric-Vesely ? Don't know much about Vesely, he had a very slow start this season and tight wins this week, no idea what to expect from his match against Coric. Do you think It will be an easy win from Coric ?

 

[Moxie]

I'm inclined to think Coric, on talent. Vesely is journeyman who can occasionally do well. I have no bead on him, either. It's a test of Coric, really.

 

[britbox]

I think Coric wins the match. Vesely usually makes it competitive though - he's not an easy out and has a lot of fairly close matches. Coric also beat him this season on hards in straight sets.

 

[britbox]

Marrakech Semi Final

v

Borna Coric v Jiri Veseley

H2H: Coric leads 1-0

2016 Dubai R32 Hard Borna Coric Jiri Vesely 6-4 6-4

Src: http://www.stevegtennis.com/
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[britbox]

Marrakech Semi Final

v

Frederico Delbonis v Albert Montanes

H2H: Delbonis leads 3-0

2015 Rome 2 Challenger QF Clay Federico Delbonis Albert Montanes 7-5 6-1
2014 Sao Paulo QF Clay Federico Delbonis Albert Montanes 6-4 6-3
2013 Buenos Aires R16 Clay Federico Delbonis Albert Montanes 6-1 6-4


Src: http://www.stevegtennis.com/
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