Day three at the ATP Sofia Open promises to be another exciting day of indoor hard-court tennis with the first round set to reach its conclusion. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Andreas Seppi vs Ilya Marchenko. But who will reach the second round?
ATP Sofia Day 3 Predictions
James Duckworth vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: first meeting
James Duckworth will surely be brimming with confidence this week having reached his first tour-level final in Nur-Sultan last time out. It has been a memorable season overall for the Australian who has played some fantastic tennis this season. Duckworth reached the third round of Wimbledon and reached the round of 16 in Toronto and followed these impressive results by winning the second Istanbul Challenger event.
Despite not possessing the firepower of many other players on tour, the Australian is very consistent from the back of the court and is a very difficult opponent to punch holes through. Emil Ruusuvuori has been in fine form of late, having reached the semifinals in Atlanta and Winston Salem before the US Open and the quarterfinals last week in Nur-Sultan. The Finnish player also reached the last 16 in Miami earlier in the season and his ranking currently resides just inside the worlds top 100, currently residing at 98th in the world.
Ruusuvuori has shown that is an exciting prospect and he will be looking to add more ranking points as we head into the latter stages of the 2021 season. Expect this to be a close match given the recent fine form of both players. It is a difficult match to predict, but Ruusuvuori has more firepower in his game and he should have just about enough to advance a winner in three sets.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
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Filip Krajinovic vs Dimitar Lazarov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Filip Krajinovic has had some good results on the ATP Tour this season. The Serb started the year well by reaching the third round of the Australian Open and he was two sets to love up against Daniil Medvedev before eventually losing in five sets. His best results this season have come on the clay, however, as he reached the last 16 of Monte Carlo before making back-to-back quarterfinals in Belgrade and Munich.
The highlight of the Krajinovic’s season came at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg, where recorded an impressive victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the final where he lost to Pablo Carreno Busta. However, on the hard courts Krajinovic has struggled to reproduce his clay court form, losing his opening match in the US Open and Nur-Sultan.
The Serb is yet to win an ATP title and will be looking to put that right this week. Dimitar Lazarov received a wildcard into the main-draw this week. The Bulgarian has played a mixture of ITF and ATP Challenger Tour events this season and he won ITF event in Telavi in June. The 23-year-old has no experience of the Main Tour and is currently ranked 462nd in the world. There will be no pressure on Lazarov and he should be able to swing freely and go for his shots, but given the gulf in experience, expect a straight sets win for the Serb.
Prediction: Krajinovic in 2
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Pablo Andujar vs Ilya Ivashka
Head-to-head: Andujar 1-0 Ivashka
Pablo Andujar has enjoyed a memorable season on the ATP Tour. The Spaniard has predominantly played his best tennis on the clay and he reached the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open at the start of the clay court season. In Geneva, Andujar reached the semifinals, defeating Roger Federer in the round of 16 during that run. At Roland Garros, the Spaniard recorded one of the upsets of the year as he came back from two sets to love down to defeat the fourth seed Dominic Thiem in the first round. In New York at the US Open, Andujar reached the third round, so it’s not just been on the clay where the Spaniard has play well.
Ilya Ivashka, meanwhile, is having a breakout year on the ATP Tour. The Belorussian has made consistent runs in ATP events, reaching the quarterfinals in Marbella, the semifinals in Munich and the quarterfinals in Eastbourne. Ivashka also reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, which marked the first time he had made the second week of a Grand Slam. Before the US Open, Ivashka won his first ATP Tour Title in Winston Salem and followed this up with a run to the third round in New York.
Last week the Belorussian made the semifinals in Nur-Sultan, so it is fair to say that Ivashka is playing the best tennis of his career and will be brimming with confidence heading into this week. Ivashka possesses a monstrous first serve and can dictate play from the baseline with his powerful forehand. Despite both players being in good form, Ivashka should have too much firepower for Andujar and the indoor conditions will be more favorable for the Belarusian. He should get the win in straight sets.
Prediction: Ivashka in 2
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