Go Soeda is the unexpected participant in this quarterfinal after pulling off a pair of upsets over Alexandr Dolgopolov and 4th-seeded Adrian Mannarino. Gilles Muller has continued to play very well at the BB&T Open in Atlanta with his two wins this week running his all-time record at this event to 13-3.

(7) Gilles Muller vs. Go Soeda

Muller has had little issue to this point in overpowering opponents Donald Young and Jared Donaldson to get to the quarterfinals. He crushed 14 aces against Donaldson, dispatching the American in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. He has yet to face a break point in two matches, winning right around 73 percent of his service points. That is a bit above his clip of winning 69 percent of his service points on the year. He came into the week ranked fifth in total aces on the season with 472. He has added 21 to that tally. That serve has put the pressure on his opponents this week, which has resulted in eight breaks of serve for Muller on 17 break chances. It's the same formula he will hope to have success with against Soeda.

For Go Soeda, it's been a solid showing this week with wins over more highly thought of players than himself. His two wins this week marked his first two wins against players ranked inside the top 100 in 2015. That should raise a bit of a red flag moving forward. His win in the second round over Mannarino probably should be taken with a grain of salt. The Frenchman looked disinterested in the heat this week, losing both his doubles match and singles match with quickness. After a long run in Bogota that saw him make the final, Mannarino did not seem to adapt to the heat and humidity well. Soeda capitalized as he won 46 percent of the points off Mannarino's serve. He was solid enough on his own serve as he escaped six break chances that made a world of difference. Soeda has been consistent, winning 68 and 67 percent of his service points through two rounds. He has offered up eleven break chances in all, saving all but two so far.

Head-to-Head Meetings

It's been a veritable blood bath for Soeda each time he has met Muller in their careers. Muller has won all four with three of those meetings coming in 2014. Soeda can take some solace in that their last meeting at the Nottingham Challenger last June was his best showing. There were three tiebreaks in that match, but Soeda wilted in the third set tie break as he lost it 7-0. Prior to that, Muller had never lost a set to Soeda in their four meetings. All have come on quicker surfaces that are conducive to Muller's serve, including a 2012 meeting in Atlanta. Muller won that semifinal match 6-4, 6-3. Muller controlled that match with his serve, winning 85 percent of the service points and thumping in 17 aces. Soeda struggled to match that by winning just 59 percent of his service points. He saved three out of five break points. Muller did not face a single break point.

End Game

It is difficult to see this fifth meeting between the two ending much different than the others. Muller's serve seemed better in the second round than it was in the first. Soeda has not shown a consistent ability to break through against big servers. His last test was a first round meeting against John Isner at Wimbledon. He lost 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. Isner aced him 38 times and won 93 percent of the points on his first serve. So long as Muller is able to get his first serve in consistently, Soeda look like he will struggle to see too many chances to score a look at any break chances. That would leave his best option to be getting to tie breaks where Muller is still pretty handy at 22-10 this year. Soeda is 3-2 in tie breaks in 2015 at the ATP level. Don't expect a ton of rallies in this one. More will likely come when Soeda serves, so he will need to be accurate with his shot making to keep himself in the set. This writer can see him keeping a set, maybe even two close for a while, but the surface and conditions look much more pleasing for Muller.

Prediction: Muller in straight sets