Expect plenty of exciting tennis on day three at the ATP Gijon Open with several of the world’s best set to take to the courts in Asturias. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Thiago Monteiro vs Pablo Carreno Busta, but who will come out on top?
ATP Gijon Day 3 Predictions
Sebastian Korda vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: first meeting
Sebastian Korda and Jaume Munar are set to meet for the first time in the first round in Gijon. The 22-year-old American is looking to close his second full year on tour with some momentum. After reaching a career high ranking of #30 in May, Korda has struggled to find consistency with his game. He comes into this match holding a summer hard court record of 9-6. Munar, like Korda, has struggled to find consistency this summer.
The Spaniard is known for his clay-court prowess and is just 2-5 on hard courts over the last six weeks. Munar is just 9-23 in his career on indoor hard courts. Korda, who holds a career record of 27-17 on the surface, has the big serve and groundstrokes that benefit him indoors. The Spaniard should put up a solid fight, but I foresee Korda advancing in straight sets.
Prediction: Korda in 2
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Pedro Cachin vs Alexey Vatutin
Head-to-head: first meeting
Pedro Cachin squares off with veteran qualifier Alexey Vatutin for the first time with a spot in the second round at the ATP Gijon Open on the line. Vatutin broke a six match losing streak and cruised through two rounds of qualifying to enter the main draw. He is looking for his first tour-level main draw victory since 2018, and just his third overall. Cachin is also new to tour-level action. The Argentine has been one of the best Challenger players this season.
Holding a 38-11 record with four titles on the Challenger Tour in 2022 has vaulted him up to #60 in the world. Although he is mainly a clay court player, Cachin did advance to the US Open third round in what was just his second career Grand Slam main draw. The 27-year-old has played less than six-percent of his professional matches on hard courts, but I think his competitiveness and consistency drives him past the world #279.
Prediction: Cachin in 3
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Dominic Thiem vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: Thiem 1-0 Giron
Dominic Thiem and Marcos Giron are set to square off with a spot in the Gijon quarterfinals on the line. Thiem won their only previous meeting 6-1 6-3 on the clay courts of Madrid back in 2021. Since then, the 2020 US Open Champion has dealt with a multitude of injuries that have kept him sidelined. Thiem is slowly but surely making progress after recommitting to the tour full-time in April. He made a run to the Rennes Challenger final last month and has played close matches with Hubert Hurkacz and Marin Cilic.
Giron made the final in San Diego three weeks back but has struggled to find his footing during the summer hard court swing. Both Thiem and Giron are very good baseline players. I fully expect this match to provide a lot of long, drawn out points. With that said, I think the Austrian’s fitness is finally back to a level where he should be considered the favorite in this type of match.
Prediction: Thiem in 2
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