Second seed Alex de Minaur will square off against Italian Flavio Cobolli in a much anticipated second round clash at the ATP 500 in Vienna on Thursday. Will the Italian finally get his first win over Top 10 opposition or will the Australian keep his dreams for a berth in the Turin lineup alive? We also predict the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
ATP Vienna Day 4 Predictions
Jakub Mensik vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head-to-Head: First Meeting
Jakub Mensik is back to his best and has backed up his quarterfinal finish in Shanghai with a solid straight sets victory over Alexei Popyrin. After taking a few weeks off following a tough Shanghai Masters run, Jakub Mensik made a seamless return in Vienna, winning three straight matches as a qualifier without dropping a set. Mensik has never reached quarterfinals in back-to-back main tour events, but he’s well-positioned to do so here. Miomir Kecmanovic reached the quarterfinals in Stockholm last week and won his Vienna opener against clay-court specialist Mariano Navone, 6-2, 6-4. Last week marked his first consecutive wins since Wimbledon, and this is only his third career quarterfinal on indoor hard courts. He has a balanced 27-27 win/loss record on this surface. Mensik should he maintain his level so far, will be too much for this version of Kecmanovic.
Prediction: Mensik in 2
Karen Khachanov vs Brandon Nakashima
Head-to-Head: First Meeting
Karen Khachanov sailed past the big serving Seyboth Wild to back up his title win in Almaty last week. A deep run this week will give a different color to his season which has been subpar so far compared to the stellar performances he has had in previous years. Brandon Nakashima meanwhile beat another title holder from last week in Tommy Paul to extend his win against his fellow American to 4-1 and dust off a rub of bad form. A confident Nakashima will test just about anyone especially in this condition. Khachanov’s unpredictability can often put him in danger of losing to players whom he should win against quite easily and a slow start here may tilt the advantage in favor of the American.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
Flavio Cobolli vs Alex De Minaur
Head-to-Head: De Minaur 1:0 Cobolli
Alex De Minaur has played three matches since the start of the European indoors hard court swing and his return from injury. All three matches have gone the distance. The Australian will hope to get back to his best levels as the tournament progresses. Flavio Cobolli on the other hand is coming off a hard fought straight sets win against mercurial Spaniard Davidovich Fokina. While Cobolli will be motivated to avoid going 0-10 against top 10 opponents, de Minaur’s quality should tell in the match, and he is favored to progress to the last eight and advance his Turin ambition.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
