Day three at the Swiss Indoors should see no shortage of entertaining action, with eight matches on the slate in Basel. Amongst those in action are top seed Roger Federer who takes on Radu Albot, whilst in a battle of the young guns Taylor Fritz will face Alex De Minaur. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering predictions for all eight matches. But who will come out on top in Basel?
Swiss Indoors Day Three Predictions
David Goffin vs Marin Cilic
Head-to-head: Goffin 3-3 Cilic
Marin Cilic, after an excellent spell in 2017 and early in 2018, has badly lost his way since losing to Roger Federer in five sets in the final at the Australian Open. He left Melbourne Park last year ranked third in the world, but now finds himself outside the top 20. This season, he has suffered some bruising losses and is far outside London contention. But he did find some form last time out in Moscow, reaching his first semifinal of the season at the Kremlin Cup and claiming his 500th tour-level win.
David Goffin, meanwhile, has played some excellent tennis in the second half of 2019 after a poor 2018 season. At Wimbledon, he reached the quarterfinals, before making a maiden Masters final in Cincinnati. However, he has had issues with inconsistency and was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Ugo Humbert last week in Antwerp. Both men typically play well indoors, but whilst Cilic at his best would feel confident about his chances of overpowering the Belgian, if Goffin stays composed and focused, he should be able to outmanoeuvre Cilic.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
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Ricardas Berankis vs Pablo Andujar
Head-to-head: first meeting
This may not be one of the more glamourous matches of the day at the Swiss Indoors, but it should provide an entertaining battle between two solid touring professionals. Of the two, it is Pablo Andujar who has enjoyed the most success, winning four titles and reaching a career-high ranking of world #32. However, he has played the best tennis of his career on clay courts and successes on the fast indoor courts of Europe have been few and far between for the Spaniard.
Ricardas Berankis, in contrast, is at his best indoors. He should also be acclimatised to the conditions in Basel after coming through the qualifying, beating Hugo Nys before Gregoire Barrere retired to grant him a place in the main draw. Although he does not possess the power of many indoor specialists, the Lithuanian moves superbly on hard courts and uses linear shots to good effect. Long rallies should be the order of the day, but expect Berankis’ greater affinity for hard-court tennis to prove decisive.
Prediction: Berankis in 3
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Filip Krajinovic vs Laslo Djere
Head-to-head: Krajinovic 3-2 Djere
Neither Filip Krajinovic nor Laslo Djere can any realistic hopes of coming close to matching the achievements of their countryman, the great Novak Djokovic, but both have carved out good careers in his wake. Krajinovic, whose greatest success to date came in reaching the Paris Masters final at the close of the 2017 season, struggled to back that up last year but has rebounded with a fine season in 2019. He is also in good form after reaching the final in Stockholm, where he lost to a rampant Denis Shapovalov.
Djere, in contrast to his countryman, prefers the clay, where he enjoyed some notable successes this season, not least in Rio where he won the first and thus far only title of his career. But he struggled with injury over the summer. He has not played a match since the US Open and not won one since the Croatia Open in July. It seems a tall order then, for him to get back to winning ways against Krajinovic in conditions much more enjoyable to his opponent.
Prediction: Krajinovic in 2
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Stan Wawrinka vs Pablo Cuevas
Head-to-head: Cuevas 1-0 Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka was doubtless bitterly disappointed by his defeat at the hands of Andy Murray in the European Open final. It was unquestionably a match he should have won, but instead his wait for a first title since his 2017 knee surgery continues. However, that should not detract from the generally impressive season the Swiss has put together. He may not have been quite the force he once was, but he sits inside the top 20 for a reason having made two Grand Slam quarterfinals.
And he may well like his chances up against Pablo Cuevas. The Uruguayan endured a torrid 2018 campaign, but has steadied the ship in 2019, climbing back inside the top 50. However, he remains at his most effective on a clay court, where his patient approach is most rewarded. In quicker conditions, like those to be found in Basel, he risks being overpowered. Wawrinka too prefers more time on the ball, but he can step in and dictate indoors. Expect him to do just that against Cuevas.
Prediction: Wawrinka in 3
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