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Finals previews and predictions: Ferrer vs. Dolgopolov, Isner vs. Ebden

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The Bastad title is coming down to familiar foes David Ferrer and Alexandr Dolgopolov on Sunday. In Newport, meanwhile, top seed John Isner is looking to take care of business against qualifier Matthew Ebden.

SkiStar Swedish Open: (8) David Ferrer vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov

Ferrer and Dolgopolov will be squaring off for the 14th time in their careers when they battle for the Bastad title on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 9-4 in favor of Ferrer, but it has been more competitive since the Spaniard took seven of their first eight encounters from 2010 through early in 2014. Dolgopolov is 3-2 in their last five meetings after most recently getting the job done 6-4, 6-4 on the red clay of Rio de Janeiro earlier in 2017.

That was part of a disastrous season-opening stretch for Ferrer, but the 35-year-old has evened his record at 14-14 thanks to Bastad victories over Federico Delbonis, Dustin Brown, Henri Laaksonen, and Fernando Verdasco. He had already displayed signs of a turnaround by reaching the Wimbledon third round, with an upset of Richard Gasquet in the process. Dolgopolov’s success has come even more out of nowhere, as the injury-plagued Ukrainian had retired from five matches this season–including against eventual champion Roger Federer in round one at the All-England Club. Ranked 89th in the world, Dolgopolov suddenly finds himself in the Bastad final followings wins over Leonardo Mayer, Horacio Zeballos, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Kuznetsov. Dolgopolov has arguably been the best player this week, but he owns only three career ATP titles. A seemingly rejuvenated Ferrer, on the other hand, has won 26.

Pick: Ferrer in 3

Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open: (1) John Isner vs. (Q) Matthew Ebden

It will be a tale of two very different finalists in Newport on Sunday. Isner is playing in his 23rd career ATP title match, including his 18th in the United States and third in Newport. Ebden, on the other hand, had never previously appeared in an ATP semifinal. Even though Isner has struggled throughout 2017, his berth in this final comes as no surprise. The 6’10” American is the No. 1 seed and he became even more of a favorite when second-seeded Ivo Karlovic lost in the quarters to Peter Gojowyczk. Isner has enjoyed arguably his easiest path to a championship match, with straight-set victories over Sam Groth, Dennis Novikov, and Bjorn Fratangelo that did not even require a single tiebreaker.

This marks the third career contest between Isner and Ebden, with the world No. 21 sweeping the head-to-head series 2-0. He prevailed 6-4, 7-5 at the 2012 Indian Wells Masters and 6-2, 7-6(8), 6-4 two years ago at Wimbledon. Ebden has disappeared from the main tour since then and he is toiling away at 249th in the rankings. Prior to arriving in Newport, the 29-year-old Australian’s grass-court swing featured nothing more than two first-round Challenger losses, a Challenger qualifying failure, and a first-round loss at the inaugural ATP event in Antalya. Out of nowhere, however, Ebden is into his first ATP final thanks to defeats of Rajeev Ram, Lukas Lacko, Tobias Kamke, and Gojowyczk–donating just one set to Kamke along the way. A massive step up in competition should bring about a swift end to Ebden’s successful week while giving Isner his third Newport title.

Pick: Isner in 2

The post Finals previews and predictions: Ferrer vs. Dolgopolov, Isner vs. Ebden appeared first on The Grandstand.


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