ATP Vienna (2012 Erste Bank Open) is down to semifinalists with Juan Martin del Potro and Janko Tipsarevic still alive in the draw. The top two seeds in the tournament, both players will be in action on Saturday with their eyes set on making Sunday's final. Del Potro will face Luxembourg's Gilles Muller while Tipsy looks like he will have a much easier match as he faces Slovenia's Grega Zemlja.
Muller, though ranked just 81st in the world at the moment, is a player that Delpo will know not to take lightly. Muller has played well in several hard court tournaments in the past and his results include a US Open quarterfinal appearance and an additional round of sixteen appearance at Flushing Meadows. The two players have met just once on tour with del Potro taking away a win in a fairly competitive four set match at the 2009 Australian Open. But while Muller can be a dangerous hard courter on his day his credentials do not come close to del Potro's and the Argentine certainly has experienced a lot more success late in ATP draws when compared to Muller: the World No. 8 enters this weekend in search of his 12th title while the World No. 81 is still searching for his first, now aged 29.
Tipsarevic is facing a lesser talent in Zemlja, a player who has never made it to an ATP final before. The Slovenian has enjoyed the best season of his career in 2012, one that has seen him rise into the top 100 on tour for the first time. However Tipsarevic looks as though he is playing far too sharply to be stopped by anyone outside of the Top 25 at the moment. The Serbian ran all over Ernests Gulbis earlier in the draw and Aljaz Bedene was no match in the quarters.
In years gone by Tipsy was known for his inconsistency but 2012 has been a different story. Zemlja is the current World No. 70 and Tipsarevic has lost to just two players ranked so poorly in the last year and a half. Even those players were ones who were ranked low due to missed time on tour (David Nalbandian and Ivo Karlovic) as opposed to lacking in talent. Zemjla and Tipsarevic have a recent match in their history having met in the third round at the recently completed US Open. That result saw Tipsy walk away with a straight sets win without the need for a tiebreaker, a result that should be expected in Vienna as well.
Tipsarevic and del Potro appear as though they will meet in Sunday's final in what could be a competitive match between two players currently in the Top 10 and two players in one another's way for the World Tour Finals event in November. However del Potro is the better tournament closer having won eleven titles already and only aged 24. Tipsarevic, who is 0-3 against Delpo in matches played and 0-7 in sets played, has just one title to his credit at the age of 28. Despite the early round scare against Daniel Brands, ATP Vienna appears to be the Argentine's to lose and he will open centre court at 1:50pm local time in Vienna with Tipsy's match to follow.
Weekend predictions: Delpo beats Muller, Tipsy beats Zemjla, Delpo beats Tipsy.