Saturday's tennis acca tips: Ben Shelton to stay in the hunt for biggest title
Planet Sport presents picks for Saturday's matches on the WTA and ATP Tour events in Stockholm, Tokyo, Monastir, and Nanchang.
Ben Shelton will reach a new career-high ranking next week whether he wins his Japan Open semi-final or not, but he will surely want to clinch the biggest title of his career in Tokyo.
Shelton is in an all-American semi-final, having beaten another compatriot in the last eight.
Here we make picks for Saturday's matches on the WTA and ATP Tours.
ATP Stockholm: Miomir Kecmanovic vs Pavel Kotov | Pick: Kecmanovic
ATP Tokyo: Ben Shelton vs Marcos Giron | Pick: Shelton
ATP Tokyo: Shintaro Mochizuki vs Aslan Karatsev | Pick: Karatsev
WTA Nanchang: Diana Shnaider vs Marie Bouzkova | Pick: Bouzkova
WTA Nanchang: Katerina Siniakova vs Leylah Annie Fernandez | Pick: Fernandez
WTA Monastir: Jasmine Paolini vs Lesia Tsurenko | Pick: Tsurenko
ATP Stockholm: Miomir Kecmanovic vs Pavel Kotov
Miomir Kecmanovic and Pavel Kotov have both caused a few upsets on their way to the last four but only one can go on.
The smart money is on Kecmanovic, who beat Kotov in Beijing qualifying last month.
Kecmanovic has ousted three Nordic players from the Nordic Open after he accounted for Elias Ymer, Holger Rune and Karl Friburg en route to the semi-finals.
Kotov has spent over nine hours on court this week already and will be hard pressed to keep up with Kecmanovic.
ATP Tokyo: Ben Shelton vs Marcos Giron
Ben Shelton could rise as high as World No 15 in Tokyo and is now two wins away from the biggest win of his young career.
Fellow American Marcos Giron won't be giving Shelton a walkover though and owns the win in the only meeting between the two men.
Giron beat Shelton in February at Delray Beach but hadn't reached the semi-finals this season until Tokyo.
Giron came through qualifying and that extra time out on court this week might count against him against an energetic opponent.
ATP Tokyo: Shintaro Mochizuki vs Aslan Karatsev
Shintaro Mochizuki has enjoyed a dream run in his ATP Tour debut in Tokyo but could be set for a rude awakening from Aslan Karatsev.
Karatsev is fighting his way back up the rankings in a bid to return to the top 20.
Karatsev has eliminated three genuine title contenders in straight sets in a dominant display in Tokyo.
Mochizuki will have the crowd behind him, but that probably won't be enough to lift him to victory.
WTA Nanchang: Diana Shnaider vs Marie Bouzkova
Czech top 20 star Marie Bouzkova will be eyeing her semi-final against Diana Shnaider as an opportunity to close in on a second WTA Tour title.
Shnaider is out to book her second final of the season and stay in the hunt for a maiden tour title.
These women have not locked horns in their careers to date, which kikely plays into Bouzkova's hands.
Bouzkova should be out to close this one out as soon as possible ahead of what could be a very tough final.
WTA Nanchang: Katerina Siniakova vs Leylah Annie Fernandez
Katerina Siniakova could set an all-Czech final if Bouzkova does her bit first.
However, Leylah Fernandez will have plenty to say about that as the former US Open finalist finds her best form.
Fernandez has won both of the two meetings between these players, with the most recent of those coming just last week.
Siniakova will have a plan for revenge, and this could go to three sets, but Fernandez should come through the battle.
WTA Monastir: Jasmine Paolini vs Lesia Tsurenko
There is little to separate Jasmine Paolini and Lesia Tsurenko in what will be the first meeting between the two players in the Jasmin Open semi-final.
Paolini has had her work cut out for her to reach this stage needing five hours on court across her three matches.
Tsurenko has made the last four with considerably less sweat as she tallied just over three hours across a trio of straight sets wins.
Paolini is ranked a little higher, but Tsurenko appears to be in better form across her wins in Tunisia.