Andrey Rublev will try to keep his hot streak going when he faces Borna Coric in the St. Petersburg final on Sunday. In Cologne, meanwhile, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime will battle for the title.
St. Petersburg Open: (7) Borna Coric vs. (3) Andrey Rublev
Rublev will be bidding for his fourth title of the year and can grab an absolute stranglehold on a World Tour Finals spot when he goes up against Coric on Sunday in St. Petersburg. The 10th-ranked Russian is an amazing 33-7 this season with titles in Doha, Adelaide, and Hamburg plus quarterfinal performances at the two recent Grand Slams. Rublev has maintained his awesome form with victories this week over Vasek Pospisil, Ugo Humbert, Cameron Norrie, and Denis Shapovalov.
Head-to-head history also favors the third seed, as he has won all three of his previous meeting with Coric. Rublev has not even lost a single set, getting the job done without much trouble at the 2017 NextGen ATP Finals, the 2018 Doha tournament, and last year in Shanghai. Coric will get another shot at his nemesis thanks to defeats of Feliciano Lopez, Roman Safiullin, Reilly Opelka, and Milos Raonic. The 27th-ranked Croat is playing decent tennis, but all signs point to another straight-setter in Rublev’s favor.
Pick: Rublev in 2
bett1HULKS Indoors: (1) Alexander Zverev vs. (3) Felix Auger-Aliasssime
Zverev and Auger-Aliassime will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Sunday in Cologne. Both of their previous encounters have gone Zverev’s way; 6-1, 6-4 last spring in Monte-Carlo and 6-3, 6-1 later that season in Beijing. Auger-Aliassime has continued to climb the rankings since then, but inconsistency remains an issue. Fourteen losses accompany his 21 wins this year, and he had been 1-4 in his past five matches prior to this week. Nonetheless, the world No. 22’s roller-coaster ride is back on the way up with Cologne wins over Henri Laaksonen, Radu Albot, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
As the top seed and title favorite, Zverev has simply taken care of business. He has dropped only one set, which he answered by winning his third set against Lloyd Harris 6-0. The seventh-ranked German preceded that with a 6-4, 6-1 rout of Fernando Verdasco and followed it by beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5, 7-6(3). A U.S. Open finalist and 11-time champion on the ATP Tour, Zverev will likely have too much experience for an opponent who is still seeking his first title (0-5 lifetime in finals).
Pick: Zverev in 3
WWW?
Should be Sascha for the win in two but if he naps during the match as much as usual, could be FAA’s chance!
A better question is how many df’s will AZ and FAA produce in this match up?
Auger-Aliassime has really grown in all aspects since the break so this might be his big break through. However, Zverev in 3 is the probable result based on history.
I wasnt that impressed with Coric and all it took was a will to win to defeat a very disappointing Raonic. His next opponent has just as much will to right now and is arguably playing better tennis based on what we saw in their past couple of matches.
Rublev in 3
Zverev in 3
It was good to read one prediction that tipped Auger-Aliassime to win.
Everyone predicting the same thing gets a bit boring when its exactly what the bookies odds are predicting.