On the third day at the ATP 250 in Bucharest, big hitters Sebastian Baez and Flavio Cobolli, who received byes, will enter the fray of an entertaining week in the south of Romania. It promises to be a day when veterans will compete against their younger counterparts. We at LWOT offer our predictions on who will make it to the next round.
ATP Bucharest Day 3 Predictions
Camilo Ugo Carabelli vs Filip Misolic
Head–to–Head: Carabelli 0 vs 1 Misolic
Camilo Ugo Carabelli faced little resistance against Radu Albot in the opener, securing a comfortable straight-sets win over the struggling Moldovan and will be aiming for another successful run in the clay court season, having already reached the semi-finals at the Rio and Chile Open.
Next, he will compete against Austrian Filip Misolic, who looked solid in his straight-sets win over the higher-ranked but out-of-form Alexander Shevchenko. Misolic successfully converted all four of his break points during the match and won just over 70% of the points on his first serve. He will aim to replicate his first-round performance in the second.
Carabelli’s performance has been strong over the past couple of months. He also progressed through the Miami qualifiers to the third round before being defeated by finalist Novak Djokovic. It is expected he will maintain this form against his Austrian opponent. He is also the better and more experienced player on this surface.
Prediction: Carabelli in 3
Sebastian Baez vs Gabriel Diallo
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Sebastian Baez has already played tons of clay-court tennis during the South American swing this season. He successfully defended his title in Rio and almost did the same in Santiago, but was edged out in three sets by Laslo Djere. However, his appearances during the Sunshine Double were disappointing, as he exited at the first round in both events. However, he remains a formidable player on clay and should be confident about making a deep run in this tournament.
Gabriel Diallo relied on his serve to overcome Chun-Hsin Tseng 7-5 7-5 in a slugfest, but Baez is a different class and has more than enough capability to secure a comfortable victory.
Prediction: Baez in 3
Roberto Bautista-Agut vs Francisco Comesana
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Francisco Comesana had to dig deep against veteran Martin Klizan in the opening round, recording five double faults and winning 80% of his first serve points as he rallied from a set down to secure a victory of 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Roberto Bautista Agut also needed to recover from losing a set during his match against China’s Yunchaokete Bu, ultimately winning 3-6 6-2 7-5, which lasted for two hours and 52 minutes. The Spaniard similarly committed five double faults but persevered to earn a break late in the third set, marking his first tour win since late February in Dubai.
As the two are set to meet for the first time, it promises to be tricky. Unlike Comesana, Bautista Agut didn’t look solid on his serve, conceding 17 break points, and he won’t be that lucky against the young Argentine, who will grab every opportunity he gets.
Prediction: Comesana in 3
Richard Gasquet vs Flavio Cobolli
Head–to–Head: Gasquet 1 vs 0 Cobolli
Richard Gasquet made an impressive comeback against Botic van de Zandschulp, overcoming a set and a double break deficit to secure a victory of 4-6 7-5 6-1. The Dutch player had even served for the match, but Gasquet rallied to claim the win and progress to the second round.
Flavio Cobolli, who received a bye, has had a challenging season thus far, facing first-round exits at Rotterdam, the Mexican Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. Cobolli also encountered difficulties at the Phoenix Challenger, where, despite being the second seed, he barely managed to defeat Eliot Spizzirri in three sets before being knocked out by Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old will need to rely on better luck on clay, where he has reached three finals on the Challenger Tour. Gasquet has the potential to nick a set in this one, but if there’s any match for the Italian to begin his resurgence, it’s this one.
Prediction: Cobolli in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
