Borna Coric and Alexander Bublik have capitalized on first-round byes to make their ways to the Montpellier quarterfinals. They will go up against Flavio Cobolli and Alexander Shevchenko, respectively, on Friday.
(4) Borna Coric vs. Flavio Cobolli
Cobolli projects to be one of the tour’s breakout stars in 2023. That effort is certainly off to a good start, as the 21-year-old Italian qualified for the Australian Open main draw and made a run to the third round. Cobolli has maintained his fine form at the Open Sud de France with victories over Gael Monfils and Constant Lestienne.
Up next for the world No. 6 in the quarterfinals on Friday is a third meeting with Coric. They split a pair of Challenger encounters in 2022, with Cobolli prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Rome before Coric got the job done 7-5, 6-4 in Parma. The 37th-ranked Croat’s current indoor swing already includes a runner-up showing at a Challenger in Belgium followed by a 6-4, 6-0 defeat of Pedro Martinez on Wednesday. Still, Coric is somewhat rusty on the main tour after missing the entire 2023 fall swing due to injury. This is a good opportunity for Cobolli to continue his hot streak.
Pick: Cobolli in 3
(6) Alexander Shevchenko vs. (2) Alexander Bublik
It will be an all-Kazakh showdown when Bublik and Shevchenko go head-to-head for the first time in their careers. Shevchenko just switched his nationality from Russia to Kazakhstan last week, instantly becoming the latter’s No. 2 player behind Bublik. The world No. 59 enjoyed a breakout 2023 season but his 2024 campaign began with two second-round exits and a blowout 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 loss to Jaume Munar in round one of the Australian Open. Shevchenko has gotten back on track in Montpellier by beating both Dalibor Svrcina and Gregoire Barrere in three sets.
Bublik followed up a first-round bye with a 1-6, 7-6(12), 6-3 defeat of Denis Shapovalov in which he saved three match points. As usual, the world No. 27 has already been all over the place in 2024; he opened with a semifinal showing in Adelaide only to get crushed by world No. 137 Sumit Nagal 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) in the Aussie Open first round. These are two of the most mercurial players tour; they can be either amazing or terrible on any given day. As such, this one is almost impossible to predict. However, the only real knock on Bublik throughout his career has been a lack of motivation. But you don’t win a match 1-6, 7-6(12), 6-3 from three match points down if you aren’t motivated. Bublik won the Montpellier title in 2022 and he probably wants to make another run at it.
Pick: Bublik in 2
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