Just two men remain in contention at the Zhuhai Open, as Frenchman Adrian Mannarino is set to take on young gun Alex De Minaur for the ATP 250 title. But who will come out on top?
Zhuhai Open Final Prediction
Alex De Minaur vs Adrian Mannarino
Head-to-head: first meeting
Once one of the best players not to win a title on the ATP tour, Mannarino finally did it on his seventh try this year at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships. The Frenchman arrived in Zhuhai with not much success after that and was handed a tough draw, facing Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. But he Greek retired due to a problem with his respiration at one set all.
Mannarino then went on to defeat Damir Dzumhur and Albert-Ramos-Vinolas. He was particularly brilliant against the Spaniard, dominating him for most of the match which he took 6-0 4-6 6-1. In an excellent shotmaking display, Mannarino lost just six points in the first set.
De Minaur had a slightly better year, capped off with titles at Sydney and Atlanta. The Zhuhai Championships are his first tournament since dropping a fourth-round US Open match to Grigor Dimitrov. The Australian dispatched his compatriot John Millman in round one and faced a resurgent Andy Murray next. De Minaur survived an almost three-hour battle and went on to claim another marathon win over Borna Coric.
The seventh seed’s best performance came in the semifinals as well, when he destroyed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 6-2. The Australian lost only seven points on his serve and broke four times to come out on top in 78 minutes. This will be their first meeting against each other. Mannarino is a very talented shot-maker who hits the ball not quite like anybody else. Until recently, Alex De Minaur did not have the type of game that could overpower the Frenchman. However, he’s made some drastic improvements. The Australian is now winning a lot of “free” points on his serve and forehand combination which was the key to many of his wins in the latter half of the season.
Mannarino excels at spreading his balls to corners and short angles but it will not be as big of an asset against De Minaur. The world no.31 is arguably the fastest player on the tour and gets to literally everything. With his improved offensive game, he should get enough quick points on his serve to triumph here.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3
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