Thursday in Umag will cover the remaining second-round matches. The second seed Borna Coric and the fourth seed Dusan Lajovic will open their Croatia Open campaigns. Who are the favorites to advance to the Croatia Open quarterfinals?
ATP Croatia Open Day 4 Predictions
Aljaz Bedene vs Jannik Sinner
Head-to-head: First meeting
The 17-year-old Italian prodigy just keeps on delivering, coming back from a 1-6, 1-3 deficit to defeat Pedro Sousa for his third tour-level win. Sinner’s level of play is constantly fluctuating and it’s very hard to predict what will happen next but Aljaz Bedene scored a good win against Marco Cecchinato in the first round and should most likely be too solid and take the chances he gets, unlike Sinner’s first-round opponent.
Prediction: Bedene in 3
Nino Serdarusic vs Facundo Bagnis
Head-to-head: Bagnis 1-0
Serdarusic got a wildcard to the main draw of the Croatia Open for the third time (2016, 2018) and managed to take advantage by beating Marco Trungelitti to earn his first tour-level win. The home-crowd support is of huge help in these smaller ATP events but it’s hard to imagine Serdarusic extending his run. Bagnis had to survive a match point in the first round against Martin Klizan and came back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set. The Argentinian has a big experience advantage and he took their only meeting, back in January this year, 6-0, 6-2 in Punta del Este Challenger. Prediction: Bagnis in 2
Borna Coric vs Salvatore Caruso
Head-to-head: Coric 1-0
For Coric, it is the first match of the tournament, whereas Caruso had to play three to even get to this round. The Italian qualified with wins over Nik Razborsek and Tommy Robredo and defeated Corentin Moutet to set up a second career meeting with Coric. The Croat won their only encounter in Rome qualifying in a third-set tie-break but while four years later Coric is a steady ATP Top 20 player, Caruso’s development has been much slower. However, the Croat was forced to skip Wimbledon because of an abdominal injury he got in Halle and there’s no way of predicting whether he will be a 100 percent fit. The Italian’s qualified for and made the third round at Roland Garros this year and he’s surely good enough to take advantage should Coric not be fit enough but otherwise, he just doesn’t have the firepower to trouble the Croat.
Prediction: Coric in 3
Andrey Rublev vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: Lajovic 1-0
Rublev is a former champion of the event and he certainly likes the conditions in Umag, proven by a great performance to dispatch Robin Haase in straight sets on Monday. The Russian’s forehand has a huge backswing and on a clay court, he will have enough power to dominate Dusan Lajovic. The Serbian had his best career result this year when he reached the Monte Carlo final (lost to Fabio Fognini) but he hasn’t done anything of note since and is yet to prove that this wasn’t a fluke.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
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