The semi-final match-ups are set in Washington, D.C. and very surprisingly there are no Americans or top 10 players in the mix. In fact, two out of the four players who are still alive, were not in the top 50 coming into this tournament.
The first semi-final match features two seasoned veterans who will be facing off for the first time. Twenty-five year old and 25th world ranked, Marcos Baghdatis is attempting to win his second title of the year, having previously defeated Richard Gasquet in the Sydney final. The Cypriat made a name for himself at the 2005 Australian Open, as he fought his way into the final and lost in four sets to Roger Federer. Since his first and only Grand Slam so far, Baghdatis hasn’t really returned to that top level of play. A championship here in DC would be a major step in the right direction. His opponent, Xavier Malisse, has not been to an ATP final since 2007. Malisse is coming off of back-to-back upsets against big servers, John Isner and Tomas Berdych and at 30 years old is quite hungry for a fourth career singles title. Unfortunately, I believe Baghdatis has a little too much fire power and I expect him to prevail in three tight sets.
The second semi-final match offers up two players with top 10, if not top 5 potential. The up-in-coming Croat, Marin Cilic is currently ranked 13th and has been knocking at the door of the top 10 for the last couple of years. Cilic has two titles this year, both on hard courts. In his way to another final is Argentinian Davis Cup hero, David Nalbandian. Nalbandian is perhaps the most feared floater in any draw these days as the 28 year old has had a career full of knocking off the top players on the tour. He brings into the match a 1-0 edge over Cilic, and up until yesterday’s three set match against Gilles Simon, had only dropped 9 games this tournament. It’s hard to imagine anyone beating Nalbandian the way he’s playing. I predict the Argentine will advance to his first final of the year in three sets.
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