ATP Hangzhou 1/8-Finals
Hijikata – Marozsan: 20.09.2024 09:00 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Rinky Hijikata has won three of his last five matches. Here in Hangzhou, Rinky defeated Dzumhur in the first round, after he was set down, and 2-5 down in the second set. It was one of the biggest comebacks this season. Hijikata did not win anything this season. His biggest result was reaching the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 in London. Rinky is on the verge of dropping out of the top 100 in the rankings. He needs some solid results if he wants to stay in the top 100, and keep playing at the highest level.
Fabian Marozsan has lost three of his last five matches. Marozsan reached the second round of the US Open, where he fell short against Medvedev as we predicted. Here in Hangzhou, Marozsan defeated Nardi in straight sets as we predicted. Fabian is lurking around the top 50. He needs to start winning, to secure his top 50 spot. His biggest hard court result was reaching the quarterfinals in Miami, when he lost against Zverev in tight straight sets.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, Marozsan is the slight favorite in this matchup. Hijikata struggled a lot against Dzumhur. On the other hand, Fabian lost only two games against Nardi, and showed great tennis. We believe that Marozsan will continue in that fashion, and win once again comfortably.
That being said, Marozsan winning in straight sets is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Fabian Marozsan winning 2-0 @2.20 @bet365
Bu – Khachanov: 20.09.2024 13:30 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Yunchaokete Bu has lost three of his last five matches. Bu was granted a Wild Card in Hangzhou. Bu is looking for a solid result this week, to get his ranking closer to the top 100. In his opening round match, Bu defeated Gaston in straight sets as we predicted. So far this season, Bu has spent a lot of time playing at the challenger tour level. He has already won three challenger titles this season on the hard courts, and played two finals as well. The young Chinese is one of the biggest Chinese talents right now.
Karen Khachanov has lost three of his last five matches. With his recent poor performances, Khachanov is no longer a part of the top 20 players. The last match he played was at the US Open, where he lost against Dan Evans in five tough sets as we predicted. Khachanov had some solid results at the beginning of the season, but other than that, Karen has not had any remarkable results. Last year around this time, Khachanov won the title in Zhuhai, winning against Nishioka in straight sets.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, Khachanov is the slight favorite in this matchup. We believe that with the help of the crowd, Bu might have a decent chance against Khachanov, who is out of form. We expect Bu to keep this match tight.
That being said, Bu covering the games handicap is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Yunchaokete Bu +2.5 games @1.83 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
