Stan Wawrinka’s conqueror, Cristian Garin, takes on US Open champion Dominic Thiem, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner meet for the first time, and Dan Evans continues his 2020 climb up the ATP rankings. All that and more on day four of the 2020 Vienna Open.
ATP Vienna Open Day 4 Predictions Including Dominic Thiem vs Cristian Garin
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Dan Evans vs. Jurij Rodionov
Head to head: 0-0
Dan Evans had already won the first set against Aljaz Bedene when Bedene retired from the match handing Evans a spot in the Vienna Open round of 16. Even without the stroke of luck, Evans has been playing some of his best tennis all year. He reached his highest ever singles ranking earlier this year when he sat at 28th in the world and, even now, is not far off that mark at 33. Evans, whose slice and dice game can bamboozle any opponent will be the heavy favorite against Jurinj Rodionov. While the official tour-level head to head between the two players stands at 0-0, they have played once at a challenger event in 2018 and again in qualifying at the Australian Open in 2019. Evans won their most recent encounter and is a much stronger player now than he was then.
Prediction: Evans in 2.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head to head: 1-1
The only players in action on day four who have played each other on the ATP tour before, Hubert Hurkacz and Lorenzo Sonego split their previous meetings. Hurkacz, much like Evans, is playing some of the best tennis of his career in 2020. Also like Evans, he reached his highest ever career ranking of 28 earlier this year. Sonego has played well throughout the year. Especially notable was the marathon score line of his third round victory over Taylor Fritz at the French Open. On hard courts, his recent results are unremarkable and against a solid, big-hitting player like Hurkacz, he will be hard pressed to stay in the match.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 2.
Andrey Rublev vs Jannik Sinner
Head to head: 0-0
The first meeting between Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner is unlikely to be the last. Rublev is one of the best players of 2020. His match and title winning are almost unrivaled outside of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. He may not have been a slam finalist or winner like Zverev and Thiem, but he has announced himself as one of the most talented and consistent players on tour. His opponent, similarly, has broken out of the shell of his youth posting solid results, like his win in the previous round in Vienna against Casper Ruud. This match is the inverse of Sinner’s match against Ruud. Ruud, in that match, was the older player with slightly less to his game. Here, Sinner is facing off against a player in Rublev who has, at least right now, more shot making ability, as well as more experience. Sinner will make him work for the win, but Rublev has a gear that Sinner can’t yet touch.
Prediction: Rublev in 3.
Dominic Thiem vs Cristian Garin
Head to head: 0-0
Cristian Garin’s win over Stan Wawrinka in Vienna is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Even if Wawrinka has not been playing his best tennis this year, his pedigree and talent make him hard to beat even when he is off his game. Even more than the level of tennis, Garin’s ability to regroup after dropping the second set to Wawrinka in a tight tiebreak was the standout feature of the match. Thiem, who has not played since his quarterfinal defeat to Diego Schwartzman at the French Open, will have fresh legs. Thiem’s big ball striking and almost unmatched movement will see him past Garin.
Prediction: Thiem in 2.
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