The ATP games on Wednesday in St. Petersburg offer a number of fascinating encounters. Andrey Rublev will try to get past last week’s surprise opening round defeat in Moscow, but he has a tough opening round opponent in Ilya Ivashka who had a breakout season on the ATP tour. Last week’s Moscow finalist Marin Cilic will try to maintain his good form against Albert Ramos Vinolas. Here are my predictions for all of Wednesday’s games.
ATP St. Petersburg day 3 predictions
Marin Cilic versus Albert Ramos Vinolas
Head to head 5-3 Cilic
Marin Cilic reached the final in Moscow last week, a welcome return on tour for the Croatian who has not played at the US Open since retiring in the first round. The highlight of the Croatian season so far was winning the title in Stuttgart at the beginning of the grass season. Cilic still plays a high level of tennis but sometimes tended to avoid casual mistakes in tight situations in games.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas recently took two impressive wins at Indian Wells, beating Lorenzo Musetti and Felix Auger-Aliassime. However, aside from the clay court season where the Spaniard won the Estoril title and reached the semi-finals in Marbella, Ramos Vinolas struggled to get consistent runs in grass and hard court events.
I expect this to be a close match but I think Cilic will take the win in straight sets as he has more firepower and a bigger serve than the Spaniard.
Prediction: Cilic in 3
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Pablo Andujar versus Denis Shapovalov
Head to head: 1-0 Shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov is without a doubt one of the most talented players in the game. However, it is fair to say that the Canadian has undercut something on the ATP tour so far. Aside from a run to the final in Geneva during the clay court season, Shapovalov has not been able to reach another Tour-level final this season, which is surprising given his firepower and shooting skills. At Wimbledon he had a brilliant run up to the semifinals, but it is clear that the Canadian must improve his shot selection and his tactical side of the game if he is to regularly win on the ATP Tour.
Pablo Andujar caused two of the biggest surprises of the season on the clay court swing when he defeated Roger Federer in Geneva and Dominic Thiem in the opening round of Roland Garros. The Spaniard is playing with a protected ranking this week and is currently ranked 92nd in the world. Andujar reached the third round of the US Open and definitely has the resources in his game to get the Canadian into trouble.
However, I think Shapovalov’s game is better suited to indoor conditions and I think he will take the win in two close sets.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 2
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Karen Khachanov versus Adrian Mannarino
Head-to-head race: 3-0 Khachanov
Karen Khachanov has had a solid 2021 season on the ATP Tour. The Russian won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and also reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Last week Khachanov made it to the semi-finals in Moscow, so it can be said that he will be a little confident this week. However, since winning the Paris Masters 2018, the Russian has not reached another touring-level individual final, which is surprising given the weapons and firepower he possesses.
Adrian Mannarino scored a brilliant win against Andrey Rublev in Moscow last week, where the Frenchman came back from deficit on match point in the second set. Mannarino won two sets against Roger Federer at Wimbledon this year and is best known as a lawn specialist. However, he is a clumsy player to play against on any surface and holes are difficult to hit and when he is at his best he very rarely gives up casual mistakes.
I think this will be a close game that will last over three sets, but I think Khachanov will take the win as he can win more bonus points on his serve.
Prediction: Khachanov in 3
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Alexander Bublik versus Jan-Lennard Struff
Head to head: 1-0 Struff
This should be a very enjoyable game between two players who are very evenly matched. Alexander Bublik is one of the great entertainers in the sport and has enormous firepower and variety in his game. Bublik made it to the final in Antalya at the start of the season and quickly underpinned this performance with a place in the final in Singapore. The Kazakhs reached two Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Miami and Madrid. However, despite his amazing talent, there are a few weeks and games where he seems to have lost focus on the pitch and his efforts have been called into question.
Jan-Lennard Struff has taken some impressive wins this season, including a win over Danil Medvedev in Halle and a win over Andrey Rublev in the opening round of Roland Garros, where he reached the fourth round. However, the German is sometimes a mixed-up player and struggles to produce his best tennis every week. Struff has one of the biggest forehands in the sport and makes a great first serve, but his first serve percentage can sometimes let him down.
I think this will be another close game and I think Struff will take the win in straight sets.
Prediction: Struff in 3
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Ilya Ivashka versus Andrey Rublev
Head to head: 1-0 Rublev
I think this is the most fascinating game of the day. Andrey Rublev had another good season on the ATP Tour. The Russian won the ATP 500 in Rotterdam and beat Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo on the way to his first Masters 1000 final. Rublev also reached another Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati. However, there are still questions about the Russians’ inability to produce their best tennis at the Grand Slams.
Ilya Ivashka had a breakout season on the ATP Tour. The Belarusian reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and won his first ATP title in Winston Salem. Ivashka also reached the third round at the US Open. The Belarusian has an entertaining offensive game and a powerful serve that allows him to win a lot of free points.
This promises to be a close match as both men have similar firepower. Rublev suffered an early loss in Moscow last week so it will be interesting to see how the Russian react. I think it will be three sets but I predict Ivashka will take the win.
Prediction: Ivashka in 3
Main photo by Getty.
The post ATP St. Petersburg day 3 predictions including Ivashka versus Rublev first appeared on Daily Florida Press.from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/atp-st-petersburg-day-3-predictions-including-ivashka-versus-rublev/
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