The BOSS Open continues this week in Germany as Frances Tiafoe faces Jack Draper and Alexander Bublik faces Lorenzo Musetti.
2024 ATP Tour
ATP 250 Series
BOSS Open
Tennis Club Weissenhof
Selected QFs matches – 14 June
Frances Tiafoe 29/20 | Jack Draper 52/100
This has the makings of a pre-Wimbledon classic. This has been a somewhat disappointing campaign for powerhouse American Frances Tiafoe.
He started to really threaten in major events in recent seasons, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open in 2022 before an Indian Wells semi-final run last season. Those results helped propel him into the top ten in the world for a brief period last year.
And he ended the season in style by reaching the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows. But he has fluffed his lines in the bigger events this season (though he did reach a clay-court final back in Houston).
Tiafoe will be hoping that the switch to grass will change his fortunes. Blessed with a big serve and unorthodox forehand, Tiafoe has the type of game that can prosper on grass. And he proved it in this very event last season, winning his maiden grass-court title with victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in the final.
He wasn’t overly convincing in his opener, edging past Yannick Hanfmann in a tight straight-sets win. But Tiafoe is a confidence player whose form can ignite in an instant.
Long touted as the next big thing in British tennis, Jack Draper has had to contend with a litany of injury issues in his young career. But he has just surpassed Cameron Norrie in the live rankings to become British No.1 for the first time.
Sure, that probably has more to do with Norrie’s downfall than Draper’s form. But it’s nonetheless a nice little boost for Draper in his Wimbledon preparations.
And he has looked solid in Stuttgart this week, seeing off Ofner in his opener before a seesaw three-set win over Marcos Giron (exacting some British vengeance after Giron ended Andy Murray’s Stuttgart hopes).
He hit a staggering 37 winners against Giron and was particularly ruthless on that backhand wing. He also won a mind-boggling 84 % of his first-serve points. With Murray approaching the end of his career and Norrie struggling this season, Draper will be carrying British hopes this summer.
The Verdict: Draper to win in three 11/4
Tiafoe won their only previous meeting, taking down the Brit in straight sets at the 2022 Paris Masters. This should be a pulsating match, pitting Tiafoe’s crunching forehand against Draper’s versatile backhand.
I think Draper may edge this one in three. He will obviously enjoy huge crowd support and that could give him a slight edge over three sets.
I just think his first-serve numbers against Giron were excellent and that awkward, booming lefty delivery will be hard to contain on these surfaces. Still, Tiafoe is a seasoned campaigner and this could go the distance.
Alexander Bublik 58/100 | Lorenzo Musetti 13/10
Mercurial Kazakh Alexander Bublik advanced to the quarter-finals courtesy of a straight-sets win over Serb Medjedovic. It was an impressive start to the tournament for a player tailor-made for grass-court tennis.
The towering Bublik has a monstrous serve and he loves to play concise, first-strike tennis (he also isn’t afraid of approaching the net). He has reached three grass-court finals in his career, reaching his maiden ATP 500 final at last year’s Halle Open.
He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last season but he is probably better suited to success in three-set tournaments. He lacks the temperament to become an established Grand Slam contender.
He has actually openly stated that he doesn’t really love the game. He does possess the raw power to blitz opponents in these shorter tournaments. He won his 4th title in Montpelier earlier this year before reaching yet another ATP 500 final in Dubai.
He is one of the great mercenaries of the modern game and victory in this week’s event will fit perfectly into his MO.
22-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti has been in pure clay-court mode this week, grinding his way past Mpetshi Perricard and Koepfer in very tight matches. In fact, the first four sets he has played this week went to tiebreaks. But he has persevered to reach the Stuttgart quarter-finals for the second season running.
He enjoyed a solid grass-court campaign last year, reaching back-to-back quarter-finals in Stuttgart and Queens. He would then go on to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
He has been slightly underwhelming this year, flirting with deep runs in Miami and Monte-Carlo. But he seems to be finding his feet again, reaching two Challenger finals before a third-round run at the French Open.
He led Djokovic by two sets to one before the Serb mounted one of his predictable comebacks. Musetti is a brilliant defensive player with incredible variety and he just seems to be getting better on grass.
The Verdict: Musetti to win in three 4/1
Bublik has won both of their previous matches. Musetti had to withdraw while trailing Bublik at Queens back in 2022 while the Kazakh clawed his way through a nailbiter in Adelaide earlier this year.
I feel pretty good backing the slight upset here. Bublik wins in straight sets if he goes at full tilt. But he often loses focus and Musetti is the type of tenacious battler who could exploit any lapses in concentration.
Musetti has improved substantially on grass over the last few seasons and this would be a really impressive scalp for him.
