Dominic Thiem will try to build on his biggest win in more than a year when he faces Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday in Bastad. A quarterfinal spot will also be at stake when Andrey Rublev kicks off his campaign against Federico Coria.
(PR) Dominic Thiem vs. (4) Roberto Bautista Agut
Bautista Agut and Thiem will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Nordea Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Bautista Agut, who most recently prevailed 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4 at the 2021 Doha event. That marks their only meeting since the end of 2015.
They have never faced each other on clay, which should give Thiem a better chance. However, the 27-year-old Austrian missed almost an entire year with a wrist injury and his 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) victory over Emil Ruusuvuori on Tuesday was his first on the main tour in 2022. Bautista Agut, who got an opening bye as the No. 4 seed, is coming off a bout with Covid-19 that forced him out of Wimbledon prior to the second round. Needless to say, both of these guys are virtual wild cards right now. If the 20th-ranked Spaniard is close to 100 percent, however, he will likely be too consistent for a rusty and struggling opponent.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 2
Federico Coria vs. (2) Andrey Rublev
Interestingly, of this particular quartet of plays only Coria–a relatively low-ranked clay-court specialist–played Wimbledon without any issues. Bautista Agut withdrew, Rublev was banned, and Thiem didn’t play. Of course, Coria did not last long. The 30-year-old Argentine lost in straight sets to Jiri Vesely, sending him right back to clay. Coria found himself at a Challenger tournament in Germany last week, when he beat two opponents outside the top 100 and then fell to Henri Laaksonen 6-4, 6-3.
That doesn’t inspire much confidence against Rublev, who has been practicing for several weeks on clay since he was unable to make an appearance at the All-England Club. The eighth-ranked Russian is 29-9 this season with three titles, including one already at an ATP 250 on clay (Belgrade; beat Novak Djokovic in the final). A well-rested Rublev will be eager to get back in action and should not have much trouble with Coria.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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