Another week of exciting tennis action is here! While this season’s majors are over, the indoor hard court season is alive and well. Who will take the first step to lifting the winner’s trophy and who will fall short? Read on to find out.
ATP Astana Open Day 1 Predictions
Dmitry Popko vs Radu Albot
Head to Head: never played
Dmitry Popko has played a ton of tennis this season, including during the pandemic. Last week at the Istanbul Challenger, Popko reached the quarterfinals, including a big win over Jaume Munar. Radu Albot has struggled this season and lost in qualifying of the ATP 250 event in Cologne this past week to Oscar Otte.
These two have never played before. Neither of these players are big servers and so it will come down to who can control the baseline and play a cleaner match. Given that Popko has the comfort of playing in his home country and is the more confident player given Albot’s recent form, I expect Popko to get through this match. Albot’s been way too poor since the restart to trust him here. But, it will be close.
Prediction: Popko in 3
Tommy Paul vs Stefano Travaglia
Head to Head: never played
Tommy Paul has struggled lately, losing three of his past four matches, including a straight sets loss to Feliciano Lopez in Antwerp. In addition, Paul has not won on hard courts since the restart. Stefano Travaglia retired in his last match on the clay in Sardinia, so his health is in question for this one. Travaglia has also not won on hard courts since the restart and has lost his last four hard court matches overall.
These two have never played before. Despite his recent struggles, Paul is much more comfortable on hard courts compared to Travaglia. If you combine that with Travaglia’s potential to still be slightly injured, and it’s only smart to take the American in this one.
Prediction: Paul in 2
Cameron Norrie vs Jordan Thompson
Head to Head: 3-1 Norrie
Cameron Norrie did well to take down Emil Ruusuvuori in Antwerp, but ultimately did not have enough game to beat Milos Raonic. Jordan Thompson has struggled indoors since the French Open, not winning a set in losses to Dennis Novak and Gilles Simon.
Norrie leads the head to head 3-1 in a very competitive matchup, with no matchup ever ending in straight sets. Expect this one to be tight, as well. Thompson is superb in his consistency from the baseline and counterpunching skills. Norrie has a bit more power, but is a touch less consistent. The key to this match will be whether or not Thompson can extract enough errors from Norrie to gain the edge. Despite the head to head, having watched this matchup before, it’s truly a toss up. I trust Thompson’s consistency a touch more than Norrie’s power and think he probably should have won a couple of their past matches.
Prediction: Thompson in 3
Frances Tiafoe vs Corentin Moutet
Head to Head: 1-0 Moutet
Frances Tiafoe has played good tennis since the restart. He had a decent week in Antwerp, taking out Dusan Lajovic in straight sets before falling to Dan Evans. Corentin Moutet has struggled recently, losing four of his last five matches. He lost in straight sets to Lloyd Harris in the first round of Antwerp.
Moutet leads the head to head 1-0, having just beaten Tiafoe in straight sets on the clay in Sardinia. However, given that was on clay and this is on indoor hard, that matchup has very little bearing on this one. On indoor hard, Tiafoe’s controlled aggression should shine through more than it did in Sardinia. Moutet’s game is also much better suited to clay, with his lack of power much more visible on hard courts. Expect Tiafoe to come through in this one.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 2
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