We have reached the final match of the ATP Hall of Fame Championships in Newport. A blockbuster final awaits us between Alexander Bublik and Maxime Cressy. Who do you think will win? We share our thoughts.
ATP Newport Final Prediction
Alexander Bublik vs Maxime Cressy
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players have a very poor history in finals, where they’re a combined 1-6. Maxime Cressy lost two this year, in Melbourne to Nadal at the beginning of the year and then a heartbreaking third set tiebreak to Fritz in Mallorca before Wimbledon. Alexander Bublik, on the other hand, lost his first four career finals before finally triumphing this year in Montpelier against Alexander Zverev, interestingly the strongest/highest ranked opponent he’s ever faced in a final. It’s quite possible that being a massive underdog helped Bublik bring his best game to the court, but that won’t be the case here: it’s pretty much a 50-50 final.
Both players have had excellent campaign this week; neither were exactly favored to get to the final, but here they are after beating players like Andy Murray and John Isner. Cressy’s serve has been almost unplayable while Bublik has shown some very unusual focus and consistency, especially in his last two matches, where he’s pretty much been on fire, not dropping a single set to Murray or Kubler. Cressy has only been broken once all week, against John Isner in the semifinals, and he has fired an incredible 64 aces.
In this matchup, it will all come down to Cressy’s massive serve against Bublik’s flashy shotmaking skills. Off the ground, Bublik should have the advantage based on the form he’s showing this week, but Cressy will get far more free points off his massive serve. Ultimately it could very well come down to who holds their nerve better in tiebreaks or which of the two players will actually bring their best level to the final, which both have struggled with in the past. In such situations, the smart pick is always the more consistent/steady player, in this case Cressy.
Prediction: Cressy in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
