Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will meet fourth seed Borna Coric in the semifinals of the 2023 Los Cabos Open on Friday, August 4, 2023.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is playing the Los Cabos Open for the first time this week, a decision that might have been fuelled by his desire to end his longest ATP title drought for some time. Standing between Tsitsipas and a final spot is Croatian number four seed Borna Coric.
Tsitsipas began his campaign in the Mexican city with a commanding win over big-serving American John Isner, dispatching the 38-year-old 6-2 6-4. Tsitsipas' serve and movement were on point in that match, and he benefitted from a woeful serving performance by Isner who dropped his serve three times.
Tsitsipas' first major test came in the quarterfinals, where he withstood a barrage of big hitting from Nicolas Jarry to emerge victorious, 6-7 7-6 6-2 in two hours and 58 minutes. He'll look to reproduce a similar level against Coric, who has been a pebble in his shoe in this rivalry.
Coric's week has been slightly less testing so far, beating lucky loser Jason Jung and world number 113, Ilya Ivashka in straight sets. He is seeking to reach his first ATP final this season but faces a big challenge on Friday night.
Head-to-head:
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Borna Coric have played six times on Tour, with the head-to-head tied at 3-3. The Croat led the series 3-1 at the start of the season, beating Tsitsipas in high-profile events such as the 2020 US Open and 2022 Cincinnati Masters.
But Tsitsipas has since managed to even the scores, winning their two clashes in the first part of 2023 - a three-set dogfight at the United Cup and more recently in the Rome quarterfinals.
Prediction:
Stefanos Tsitsipas came in as the outright favorite to win the tournament this week, and beating Nicolas Jarry in the quarterfinals sends a real statement of intent, particularly in the way he bounced back from squandering a 6-3 lead in the first-set tiebreak.
His serve looks deadly and the humid conditions have made the court a lot slower, and he has turned his backhand into a potent weapon of some sort, slicing quite regularly and injecting pace.
Knowing Coric, he will stick to his guns and will try and maximize his strengths, and one of them is to match Tsitsipas in the serving department, but also try to pummel the Tsitsipas one-hander in the hope it will falter.
With that said, this will be another close battle among the six they have played out in the series, but we reckon Tsitsipas' turnaround against Jarry will give him a massive dose of confidence to go all the way this week.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in 3 sets.
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