Taylor Fritz is the only seeded player remaining in Eastbourne and he will face qualifier Jerry Shang in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Another qualifier, Yoshihito Nishioka, runs into familiar foe and lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic.
(1) Taylor Fritz vs. (Q) Jerry Shang
Fritz was the only seed left in the Rothesay International before he even played his opening match. The top-seeded American refused to join the max exodus, however, taking care of Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6(4), 6-3 on Wednesday. Thus continues a decent grass-court swing for Fritz, who advanced to the singles quarterfinals at Queen’s Club and finished runner-up in doubles with Karen Khachanov.
Up next for the world No. 13 during quarterfinal action on Thursday is a first-ever meeting with Shang. It has already been an outstanding week for Shang, who successfully qualified for the main draw and then knocked off both Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets. The 19-year-old from China has picked up 10 of his 14 lifetime ATP-level wins this season, so he is riding a wave of momentum. Nonetheless, Fritz is by far the best player still alive in this field and he is much more experienced than Shang–particularly on grass.
Pick: Fritz in 2
(LL) Aleksandar Vukic vs. (Q) Yoshihito Nishioka
Vukic and Nishioka will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time in this tournament when they meet again on Thursday. Yes, they have already faced each other once this week; in the final round of qualifying Nishioka prevailed 7-6(3), 6-4. They had split their two previous encounters, with the Japanese left-hander getting the job done 6-2, 7-6(2) at the 2018 Kobe Challenger before Vukic scored a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory last summer in Atlanta.
Despite the recent setback against his upcoming opponent, all four losers in the final round of qualifying–Vukic included–ended up getting into the main draw. The 28-year-old Australian has made the most of his second life in Eastbourne, beating both Fabian Marozsan and Alexander Bublik in easy straight sets. Nishioka booked his spot in the last eight with wins over Liam Broady and Marcos Giron, dropping one set to Giron in the process. Nishioka is suddenly playing well, but Vukic’s game is better suited for grass and he is already more confident than he was just a few days ago. Revenge would hardly be surprising.
Pick: Vukic in 3
