Top seed Daniil Medvedev headlines quarterfinal competition in Almaty on Friday with a showdown against Terence Atmane. The only all-seeded contest on the schedule features Alexander Bublik and Karen Khachanov.
(1) Daniil Medvedev vs. Terence Atmane
Medvedev and Atmane will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Almaty Open on Friday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Medvedev’s way; via fourth-set retirement while leading two sets to one at the 2024 Australian Open and 6-4, 6-4 this summer on the grass courts of Halle.
To say that Atmane earned himself another shot in this matchup would be an understatement. Following a 7-6(5), 6-2 defeat of Rinky Hijikata, the French left-hander survived Mattia Bellucci 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-6(5) on Wednesday. However, a two-hour and 49-minute thriller is probably not ideal preparation for what is sure to be a physical affair with Medvedev. Moreover, the fifth-ranked Russian is 15-3 in his last 18 matches with a title in Hangzhou and semifinal showings in Beijing and Shanghai during this stretch.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
(3) Alexander Bublik vs. (5) Karen Khachanov
Bublik and Khachanov will also be squaring off for the third time in their careers on Friday. They split their two previous meetings, with Khachanov cruising 6-4, 6-4 at the 2020 Cincinnati Masters before Bublik got the job done 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 last season in Halle.
Seeded third in Almaty, Bublik is in the quarterfinals without having picked up a racket. Following a first-round bye, the 19th-ranked Kazakh got a walkover from Fabian Marozsan on Thursday. Khachanov, on the other hand, crushed Rei Sakamoto 6-2, 6-4 and then outlasted Tomas Machac in a third-set tiebreaker. The 25th-ranked Russian is battle-tested and is also 11-3 in his last 14 matches dating back to the U.S. Open. Fatigue may catch up to Khachanov at some point, but that shouldn’t be the case in an indoor hard-court match against Bublik.
Pick: Khachanov in 3
