Day 4 sees the conclusion of the Round of 16 here in Hamburg, Germany for the 2022 edition of the ATP Hamburg European Open. The 500 level tournament provides great opportunities for players to nab a trove of ranking points before the North American hard court swing. In action are the top two seeds as ever, we at LWOT preview and preview all four Round of 16 scheduled matches for you.
ATP Hamburg Open Day 4 Predictions
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Aslan Karatsev
Head to head – First Meeting
Aslan Karatsev has had a pretty tough year since his win in Sydney almost six months ago. The Russian has come off of his clean ball striking that led him to the semi finals at the Australian Open last year. Perhaps the draw gods smiled on him this week as his next opponent in Daniel Elahi Galan is someone Karatsev would fancy beating.
The Colombian did take out a tricky clay courter in Federico Coria but as was evident in Karatsev’s first round match against sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, the Russian is very tough to stop once he starts rolling. Expect Karatsev to continue in the same vein.
Prediction: Karatsev in 2
Fabio Fognini vs Karen Khachanov
Head to head – Fognini 1-2 Khachanov
Both players reached the Round of 16 in similar fashion after having to win a third set tiebreaker. Fabio Fognini is still a very capable player on tour and even more so on clay. Karen Khachanov does lead the head to head but he didn’t look comfortable in his first round while the Italian does tend to start slow in tournaments.
Expect a see saw battle with several momentum shifts throughout the match but historically the Italian seems to play well in this tournament and that should favour him to find extra gear when he needs to.
Prediction: Fognini in 3
Francisco Cerundolo vs Andrey Rublev
Head to head – First Meeting
Both players enter this match on contrasting emotions–Russian Andrey Rublev comes off of a disappointing loss in the semifinals last week while the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo is coming off his first ATP title of his career. How much does Cerundolo have left in this tank is the big question ahead of this matchup.
Rublev will be keen to at least reach the finals here so as to be in the best form possible ahead of the US Open. The Argentine did look a bit tired in his first round and if he’s not 100% fit, the Russian will run all over him. Expect fatigue to play a big part in this match and the Russian to take advantage of it.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Carlos Alcaraz vs Filip Krajinovic
Head to head – Alcaraz 1-0 Krajinovic
Apart from the results in the Grand Slams that have been slightly disappointing, Carlos Alcaraz has played like the man to beat throughout the year. With four titles to his name this year, the Spaniard has certainly taken the tennis world by surprise and many people have now started to punch him as the pre-tournament favorite.
That being said, Alcaraz still isn’t a finished product but what is not in doubt is his willingness to give his all. Perhaps that’s what enabled him to win his first round match in a third set tiebreaker. He now takes on Filip Krajinovic, who took out last week’s finalist in Sebastian Baez in another third set tiebreaker. The Spaniard has beaten the Serbian in their lone previous meeting and it looks like Alcaraz should have the superior firepower once again.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
