Alex Michelsen and Lorenzo Sonego are the only remaining seeded players in Winston-Salem, but they have tough semifinal matchups on their hands. Michelsen awaits Pablo Carreno Busta, while Sonego faces David Goffin.

(WC) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (11) Alex Michelsen

Michelsen has arguably been the best player all week long at the Winston-Salem Open, but it still wasn’t a breeze to get into the semifinals. The 19-year-old ran into fellow American Chris Eubanks on Thursday night and survived a 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-6(5) thriller. That was preceded by more routine victories over Marton Fucsovics and Zizou Bergs, giving him 22 ATP-level match wins in 2024. Michelsen is up to No. 52 in the world and he will climb to No. 41 if he captures the title.

Up next for the 11th seed on Friday is a first-ever meeting with Carreno Busta, who is 14 years older at 33. The Spaniard is just now coming back from basically a full year off due to an elbow injury, but he is already in resurgent form. He secured his spot in the semis by taking out Omni Kumar, Alexander Shevchenko, Aleksandar Vukic, and Learner Tien, dropping just one set to Vukic in the process. This should be the best match of the entire tournament, and whoever wins can be expected to lift the trophy. A slight advantage goes to Michelsen given his more reliable physical state and his ability to win free points on serve in pressure-packed moments.

Pick: Michelsen in 3

David Goffin vs. (10) Lorenzo Sonego

Sonego and Goffin will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season. Goffin won their first encounter 6-4, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier in 2021 before Sonego prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 just a few months ago in Monte-Carlo qualifying.

As those results indicate, Sonego would rather contest this matchup on clay. In fact, the 58th-ranked Italian is a horrendous 34-47 on hard courts dating back to the start of 2020. Nonetheless, he has done well this week to defeat Dominic Stricker and Pavel Kotov to go along with a walkover from Jerry Shang. Meanwhile, a resurgent Goffin has ousted Jaume Munar, Luciano Darderi, Arthur Rinderknech, and Rinky Hijikata. The 33-year-old Belgian has reeled off seven consecutive and only one has been more competitive than 6-3; none has been closer than 6-4. Given the surface and his dominant form in Winston-Salem, Goffin should have the edge on Friday.

Pick: Goffin in 3