Round 2 of the Astana Open is already missing one of the tournament favorites, as World #1 Carlos Alcaraz shockingly fell to Lucky Loser David Goffin. But this draw is filled with top talent, like Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and is sure to have a first-time champion, as former champs Soonwoo Kwon and Jon Millman are not in the draw. Can one of the heavyweights get the job done as expected, or can an upstart like Marc-Andrea Huesler continue his momentum and snatch the title? We make our picks below, including Andrey Rublev vs Zhizhen Zhang.
ATP Astana Open Day 3 Predictions Including Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Luca Nardi
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Head-to-head: Huesler 1-0
Huesler is coming directly off of his first ATP title, won on hard courts at Sofia, and it will be interesting to see if he responds with confidence or suffers an immediate letdown like Carlos Alcaraz just did. Ruusuvuori has been decent though unspectacular all season, and he likes hard courts, though he has been mediocre of late. This should be a very close match, with the large Huesler figuring to be on the attack, and Ruusuvuori comfortable on the defense. Huesler’s title came with wins over Pablo Carreno Busta, Lorenzo Musetti, and a resurgent Holger Rune, and that level would surely take him past Ruusuvuori here. If the turnaround from his title doesn’t trip him up…
Prediction: Huesler in 3
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Pavel Kotov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players came through good Round 1 wins, but it’s more based on a consistent level from Bautista Agut than the young Kotov. The Spaniard moved past Felix Auger-Aliassime impressively in two sets, and has been playing well of late. Kotov is rising, and managed a straight-sets victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, which bodes well for his upward movement. Buthe is almost entirely inexperienced at the ATP level on hard courts, and his Challenger record on hard is less than Bautista Agut’s ATP record on hard. The Spaniard should combine skill with experience to take this handily.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2
Andrey Rublev vs Zhizhen Zhang
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zhang was able to take advantage of the severely struggling Aslan Karatsev, but Andrey Rublev is a force on hard courts. The Russian has hit 40 wins for the season and three titles, two of which came on hard. The Chinese is an interesting player, having risen 200 rankings this year at the age of 25, and now sitting at #126, but he has never beaten anyone of Rublev’s caliber, and has only one match against a top 10 player. Rublev should cruise.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Luca Nardi
Head-to-head: first meeting
Young Luca Nardi is on the rise, having moved up 200 places this season, but he is as yet completely inexperienced at the ATP level. He is making just his third start, having now come through qualifying in Astana, and has yet to capture an ATP match. Tsitsipas is not the best person to try to get one’s first win against; the great Greek will likely be eager to capture his 50th win of the season. Nardi pulling this one out would be a bigger upset than Goffin over Alcaraz.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
