Day 5 at the ATP Cup will bring plenty of exciting and high quality action, with WTA #1 Iga Swiatek taking the court, as well as ATP #4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. The other two matches of the day are of a much lower profile on paper, but they should still be interesting and competitive affairs. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between two articles. One features Rafael Nadal vs Alex De Minaur and the other features Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Zverev.
United Cup Day 5 Predictions
Iga Swiatek vs Belinda Bencic
Head-to-head: Swiatek 1-1 Bencic
Iga Swiatek is a clear favorite, as always these days, but Bencic surely has the ability to make things difficult for her. She did defeat Swiatek at the 2021 US Open before the Pole started dominating the tour, but times are very different now, she will need to be practically flawless to trouble the undisputed WTA #1.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Daniel Michalski vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Head-to-head: first meeting
On paper, this is the most one-sided match of the day. Huesler comes into 2023 on the back of the best season of his career and is 200 ranking spots above Michalski, who has lost all of his last four matches. On paper, Huesler should prevail with relative ease.
Prediction: Huesler in 2
Despina Papamichail vs Alison van Uytvanck
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players had good performances and a victory in their previous United Cup match and will be very motivated coming into this match, with the chance to really shine on a significant stage. Van Uytvanck is generally the better, more consistent player, but it’s hard to call which way this will go.
Prediction: Van Uytvanck in 3
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs David Goffin
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 4-2 Goffin
This matchup would have been far more interesting a few years ago, but despite his overall decline, Goffin is still capable of beating top players on his day as he proved by beating world #1 Carlos Alcaraz last year. Even if he comes into this match on the back of four consecutive losses, Tsitsipas will have to be alert here. The Greek is running out of time to really make his mark and will be aiming for a big 2023.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
