It’s time for a very exciting final at the 2022 ATP Stockholm Open. Top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on the prodigy Holger Rune in what will be a rematch of their French Open fourth-round meeting. Tsitsipas will surely have the majority of the crowd on his side against the Danish Rune, but who will lift the title?
ATP Stockholm Final Predictions
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Holger Rune
Head-to-head: Rune 1-0 Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas is going strong this indoor season, making the final at Astana and now another in Stockholm. He only played this event once before, winning his first ATP Tour title in Sweden in 2018. On the way to the final this week, he survived a tricky opening round against Maxime Cressy in a couple of closely-contested tie-breaks. His following two victories over Mikael Ymer and Emil Ruusuvuori were much cleaner, even despite a shaky first set versus the Swede.
Holger Rune was also the runner-up in the last event he played, losing to Marc-Andrea Huesler in the final at Sofia. This week, he advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set, before coming out on top in two exciting clashes against Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur. The Brit held a 3-0 head-to-head advantage against him, but Rune was able to score his first win in that rivalry. The victory over de Minaur saw him come back from a set and a break down.
Rune defeated Tsitsipas in their only meeting so far at Roland Garros this year. While certainly among the most talented youngsters on the tour, the Dane was still regarded as a massive underdog coming into that one. The general perception of where these two are with their games at the moment might have changed, but Tsitsipas remains ahead in terms of chances to clinch the title here.
In faster conditions, the Greek’s returning can often be a liability, but Rune doesn’t quite have the serve to exploit it. Tsitsipas is also playing at a much more consistent level, not as susceptible to sudden lulls as his opponent. The 24-year-old carries a lot more experience than Rune and is much more of a sure thing to perform in a final. After all, he’s played 23 of them. Meanwhile, the Dane wasn’t sharp enough against Huesler in Sofia and won his only ATP Tour title so far via retirement.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
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