Tennis Acca tips: Eight semi-final picks from four events

Titles are on the line in Marseille, Cordoba and Dallas on the ATP Tour while Abu Dhabi and Cluj Napoca round off tournaments on the women's tour.

The semi-finalists are a blend of the expected and some shocks.

In Cordoba and Dallas, three home players dominate the last four lineups.

Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi four players with serious ambitions this term battle to reach the final of the first event of the Middle East swing.

 

ATP Marseille: Hubert Hurkacz vs Ugo Humbert | Pick: Hurkacz

ATP Marseille: Karen Khachanov vs Grigor Dimitrov | Pick: Dimitrov

ATP Cordoba: Facundo Bagnis vs Federico Coria | Pick: Bagnis

ATP Cordoba: Luciano Darderi vs Sebastian Baez | Pick: Baez

ATP Dallas: Ben Shelton vs Tommy Paul | Pick: Paul

ATP Dallas: Marcos Giron vs Adrian Mannarino | Pick: Mannarino

WTA Abu Dhabi: Daria Kasatkina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia | Pick: Haddad Maia

WTA Abu Dhabi: Elena Rybakina vs Liudmilla Samsonova | Pick: Samsonova

 

ATP Marseille: Hubert Hurkacz vs Ugo Humbert

In the first of two Marseille semi-finals, Hubert Hurkacz, the defending champion, top seed, and favourite in the Open 13 Provence predictions, faces French player Ugo Humbert, who is looking to become France's first victor since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lifted the trophy in 2017.

Hurkacz received a bye into the Round of 16, and he has already defeated Alexander Shevchenko and Tomas Machac in straight sets.

Humbert, being the fourth seed, has only had to win two matches before the semi-final showdown.

The 25-year-old left-hander defeated fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the Round of 16, followed by a decisive 6-1, 6-4 triumph against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the quarter-finals.

 

ATP Marseille: Karen Khachanov vs Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov and Karen Khachanov will face off in the semi-finals of the Open 13 Provence for the fourth time in their careers.

Dimitrov won in the third round in Shanghai in 2023, their last meeting and holds a 3-0 head-to-head lead.

Dimitrov advanced to the semifinals after defeating Sebastian Korda and Arthur Rinderknech.

Ranked 18th, the Russian advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut and Zhizhen Zhang.

 

ATP Cordoba: Facundo Bagnis vs Federico Coria

Argentina can bank on at least one finalist in a home event with Facundo Bagnis and Federico Coria battling it out in the last four.

Coria will attempt to build on his 6-3, 6-4 victory against No. 29-ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Bagnis has played 27 clay court matches in the last 12 months, averaging 23.2 games per match (23.2 in best-of-three matchups).

Coria and Bagnis have faced off in 57 games, with Coria winning 30 and Bagnis taking 27 across their meetings letting you know how tight this contest really will be.

 

ATP Cordoba: Luciano Darderi vs Sebastian Baez

In the other Cordoba semi-final, Luciano Darderi of Italy is out to upset the home favourite Sebastian Baez.

Baez leads the head-to-head 1-0 having beaten Darderi in Cordoba last year.

Ranked as the ATP No 26, Baez reached the semis after beating Hugo Dellien and Facundo Diaz Acosta.

Darderi, ranked No 136, advanced to the semifinals after defeating Alessandro Giannessi, Andrea Collarini in qualifying and Tomas Barrios Vera, Sebastian Ofner, and Yannick Hanfmann in the main draw.

 

ATP Dallas: Ben Shelton vs Tommy Paul

It's an all-American blockbuster as top 20 talents Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul chase their first finals of the season.

Following a first-round bye, Paul defeated Taro Daniel in the second round and next faced eighth seed Dominik Koepfer for a spot in the last four.

Shelton had a first-round bye as well, and he defeated Michael Mmoh 6-3, 6-3 in the second round to win his first match in Dallas, before defeating seventh-seed Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals.

Shelton leads the head-to-head 2-1.

 

ATP Dallas: Marcos Giron vs Adrian Mannarino

Adrian Mannarino will believe that he is now the title favourite even if he doesn't enjoy the backing of the crowd.

Marcos Giron is out to reach just his second career ATP Tour final here in Dallas having previously lost the championship match in San Diego in 2022.

This will be Adrian Mannarino and Marcos Giron's fourth matchup at pro level.

Mannarino leads the head-to-head 2-1, with a 1-0 advantage on indoor hard courts.

 

WTA Abu Dhabi: Daria Kasatkina vs Beatriz Haddad Maia

Top 20 Players Beatriz Haddad Maia and Daria Kasatkina will face off in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open semi-finals on Saturday.

Haddad Maia picked up a huge scalp in the last eight with a hard fought win over Ons Jabeur.

Haddad Maia leads Kasatkina 2-0 in their head-to-head.

She won their prior match in the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy in straight sets and appears to be the dominant player in this rivalry.

 

WTA Abu Dhabi: Elena Rybakina vs Liudmilla Samsonova

Elena Rybakina and Liudmila Samsonova will face each other in the Abu Dhabi Open semifinals for the fifth time in their careers.

Samsonova won the semifinals in Beijing in 2023, their last meeting.

Rybakina has found Samsonova to be something of a bogey player and is yet to beat her in singles competition.

Samsonova may even be the true favourite here simply because of that head-to-head.