Day 3 at the ATP event in Moscow will feature five interesting matchups, with 2014 and 2015 champion Marin Cilic the biggest name of the lot. Some very high quality tennis is expected in Moscow this Wednesday.
ATP Moscow Day 3 Predictions
Federico Coria vs Alibek Kachmazov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Coria is a clear favorite given his experience and the fact that his opponent is ranked outside the top 600, but the young Russian scoring an upset on this surface isn’t outside the realm of possibility. It still has to be considered quite unlikely given his recent results at ITF and Challenger level, however.
Prediction: Coria in 2
Mackenzie McDonald vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Head-to-head: Nishioka 2-0 McDonald
This will surely be a very tight match, full of very long rallies. Both players lack the weapons to blow opponents off the court, but have incredible consistency and wheels; it’ll ultimately come down to who will hold their nerve better in those long rallies, and momentum seems to be on McDonald’s side, with the American having a bit of a breakthrough lately while Nishioka has been struggling a bit. The Japanese won both matches between the pair, but that was in 2019 and McDonald has definitely improved significantly since.
Prediction: McDonald in 3
Illya Marchenko vs John Millman
Head-to-head: Millman 2-1 Marchenko
Two veterans of the circuit, as shown by the fact that two of their three head-to-head matches were in the qualifying of the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Australian Open! Their most recent encounter, on the other hand, was three weeks in Sofia, with the Australian prevailing by the skin of his teeth. Another very close encounter is expected here, with Millman starting as a very slight favorite.
Prediction: Millman in 3
James Duckworth vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: Khachanov 2-0 Duckworth
These two faced each other recently at the Olympics, with Khachanov winning easily en route to a Silver Medal. Their encounter last year in St. Petersburg was quite similar as well. Duckworth is having a very good season, where he reached his first tour final, and is currently at his highest ever ranking (#52), but Khachanov should have too many weapons for him.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
Marin Cilic vs Tommy Paul
Head-to-head: First meeting
Aside from a title on grass in Stuttgart, the 2014 US Open and 2014 and 2015 Moscow champion has been having a very poor season, although in line with this 2019 and 2020 efforts. Moscow, however, has historically been a happy hunting ground for the giant Croat, who dominated Dzumhur in the first round after losing the first set in a tiebreaker. He’ll certainly be confident of having a good week here. Paul, however, is not to be underestimated; he hasn’t been having a good season, but he did have a good week in Indian Wells, beating Andrey Rublev and only losing to the shocking eventual champion Cameron Norrie. Paul doesn’t have big weapons, but if Cilic is off Paul will have the required consistency to get the better of him.
Prediction: Cilic in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
