The ATP Adelaide International 1 is the first of the two ATP 250-level events set to be hosted in the South Australian capital. The tournament has attracted many top stars in the past, and although the field may not be quite as strong this year due to the ATP Cup, with defending champion Jannik Sinner amongst those playing in Sydney this year, that has left a wide open draw and the potential for plenty of excitement. But who will advance on day one?
ATP Adelaide Day 1 Predictions
Laslo Djere vs Roberto Carballes Baena
Head-to-head: Carballes Baena 3-2 Djere
Last season saw Laslo Djere continue to enjoy success on the clay. He made the final in Sardinia and, after a third-round appearance at the French Open where he lost to Alexander Zverev, he made two further clay-court semifinals in Hamburg and Kitzbuhel. However, after the conclusion of the clay season, his level dropped drastically. In the next nine tournaments that he played, Djere won a meagre three matches in total. That does not offer much encouragement heading into this week.
On the other side of the net, Roberto Carballes Baena hasn’t played many matches on the main tour since his run to the semifinals at the ATP Bastad Open and the Spaniard is also rather more comfortable on the clay than he is on hard courts. With Carballes Baena ending his season with three defeats in the qualifying, his confidence may also be low. Djere should be able to win this, though it might be a close clash.
Prediction: Djere in 3
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Steve Johnson vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-head: Johnson 1-0 Vukic
After his quarterfinal loss at the ATP Los Cabos Open in Mexico in July, Steve Johnson hadn’t played a single tournament outside his native USA. In the span of four months, Johnson entered nine tournaments, all in USA, which included the US Open, a Challenger, and in the World TeamTennis event amongst others. His best performance in indifferent stretch came at the ATP Washington Open, where he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. Oddly enough, Aleksandar Vukic’s last nine outings were also in the United States.
Both will have to adapt to the different conditions ‘Down Under’ as a result. But it so happened that he played Johnson during the World TeamTennis event, and lost to him. Just as he did in their only previous competitive encounter at the Newport Beach Challenger at the start of last season. If those matches offer any indication of what might happen here, expect a closely fought encounter at the ATP Adelaide International that ends in a narrow Johnson victory.
Prediction: Johnson in 3
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Yoshihito Nishioka vs Kwon Soon-woo
Head-to-head: Nishioka 2-0 Kwon
Yoshihito Nishioka has, since his career-threatening ACL injury, struggled with consistency. Last year, Nishioka showed a few glimpses of his highest level, making the main draws in Madrid, Rome, Toronto and Cincinnati as a qualifier, but the highlight of his season was surely his first-round win over John Isner at Wimbledon. In a match that lasted three hours, Nishioka displayed great resilience and played some excellent percentage tennis to overcome the big-serving American.
Kwon Soonwoo’s 2021 was the best season of his career so far. Particularly encouraging was the ability he displayed on all three surfaces. The South Korean picked up his first career title at the ATP Nur-Sultan Open before ending his season with a first-round defeat in Indian Wells. Although Nishioka leads their head-to-head, Kwon should bag the win if he can recapture the form he displayed on his way to the title in Nur-Sultan.
Prediction: Kwon in 3
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Thiago Monteiro vs Daniel Altmaier
Head-to-head: first meeting
Thiago Monteiro had a good season last year. He won a Challenger title, and made two further finals at that level, although all three were on the clay and he hasn’t been able to replicate that level of performance on hard courts. Daniel Altmaier also put in some excellent performances on the Challenger Tour, making two finals in his last three tournaments of the season, winning the title in Puerto Vallarta. Though their respective rankings are close enough to suggest that there will be little between them, the surface changes that. Altmaier has been the better player by a distance away from the clay and should have enough to seal the deal here easily enough.
Prediction: Altmaier in 2
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