Titles will be up for grabs in Singapore and Montpellier on Sunday. Alexander Bublik and Alexei Popyrin are squaring off in Singapore, while the Open Sud de France pits David Goffin against Roberto Bautista Agut.
Singapore Open: (4) Alexander Bublik vs. Alexei Popyrin
Bublik will be playing in his fourth ATP final when he faces Popyrin on Sunday in Singapore and the Kazakh is still bidding for his first title. He has previously finished runner-up at the 2019 Newport event, Chengdu a few months later, and last year in Antalya. Bublik has given himself another chance with victories this week over Altug Celikbilek, Yoshihito Nishioka, and Radu Albot.
This marks the second career contest between Bublik and Popyrin (first at the ATP level). Their only previous meeting came at the 2018 Astana Challenger, where Bublik had home-court advantage but lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Popyrin is also going for his first title on the main tour; in fact, he is playing in his first final. The 21-year-old Aussie powered his way into the championship match by ousting Christopher Eubanks, Adrian Andreev, Matthew Ebden, and Marin Cilic. Popyrin has been broken only three times this week, saving 15 of 18 break points. The world No. 114 is the more mentally stable of the two players and he has close to as much talent, so Bublik’s final woes may extend to 0-4.
Pick: Popyrin in 3
Open Sud de France: (1) David Goffin vs. (2) Roberto Bautista Agut
Goffin and Bautista Agut will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers when they clash on Sunday in Montpellier. The head-to-head series is all tied up at three wins apiece (Goffin leads 3-2 on the main tour). After Bautista Agut took their first three encounters, the Belgian reeled off three victories in succession–one in 2017 (in a third-set tiebreaker on the indoor hard courts of Sofia) and a pair in 2018 (back-to-back in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona).
Both players needed a productive week in the worst way, but Bautista Agut definitely has an edge in current form. The 13th-ranked Spaniard has not dropped a set this week or even played a tiebreaker while disposing of Gregoire Barrere, Ugo Humbert, and Peter Gojowyczk. Goffin ended 2020 on a five-match losing streak and he had lost three straight matches heading into Montpellier. The top seed has managed to scrape past Benjamin Bonzi, Lorenzo Sonego, and Egor Gerasimov, but he really played well only against Sonego. Bautista Agut has been by far the best player all week and it should show on Sunday.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 2
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Bublik in 3; RBA in 2.
nice picks!