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1/8/10 9:28 PM | Ricky Dimon
Seeds 2, 3, 4, 5 are through to the semifinals of the Chennai Open. Saturday's matchups will feature Stanislas Wawrinka against Dudi Sela and Marin Cilic against Janko Tipsarevic.
(5) Dudi Sela vs. (3) Stanislas Wawrinka
If you appreciate one-handed backhands, you will be in for a treat when Sela and Wawrinka square off in the semifinals of the Chennai Open on Saturday. They have two of the best one-handers in the game, and that shot has been working for both of them this week. Wawrinka has taken out Rohan Bopanna, Michael Russell, and Michael Berrer on his path to the last four, with only one set going to a tiebreaker. The third-seeded Swiss appears to be ready for a solid 2010 campaign following a relatively lackluster season which he wrapped up at No. 21 in the world.
Sela has also won all of his matches in straight sets this week, first over Denis Istomin and then at the expense of Kevin Kim and Lukas Lacko. The fifth-seeded Israeli emerged from a quarter of the draw that was vacated by No. 1 seed Robin Soderling, who fell to Robby Ginepri in the opening round. Sela and Wawrinka have never faced each other before, but Wawrinka has the edge with a better serve and more experience in the latter stages of tournaments. Unless Sela's backhand is simply on fire, Wawrinka should prevail in three sets.
(4) Janko Tipsarevic vs. (2) Marin Cilic
It will be a rematch of last year's relatively bizarre Chennai Open quarterfinal clash when Tipsarevic and Cilic meet in the semifinals this time. Cilic won their 2009 Chennai encounter 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 on his way to the title. The two players met three times last year, all within the first two months of the season. Cilic scored a 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 then pulled out a hard-fought 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in Dubai.
Tipsarevic is once again a considerable underdog on paper even though he is in fine form at the moment. The Serb finished 2009 at 38th in the world rankings and he is off to an outstanding start in 2010 having ousted Carlos Moya, Somdev Devvarman, and Thiemo De Bakker so far this week. Cilic, seeded second and ranked 14th, had dispatched Igor Kunitsyn, Marcel Granollers, and Santiago Ventura. Tipsarevic struggled with De Bakker, and Cilic has the clear edge in both head-to-head history and past success in Chennai. Cilic in straight sets is the pick.
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Janko Tipsarevic
Marin Cilic
Aircel Chennai Open
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