The opening rounds of the 2019 Stockholm Open on Thursday, October 17 will see a few top seeds in action. Get Fabio Fognini v Janko Tipsarevic and Denis Shapovalov v Alexei Popyrin tips, previews, and predictions here, with a few other matches as well.
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Fabio Fognini v Janko Tipsarevic Predictions & Preview
This is the first meeting between the two players on the tour since their encounter back in 2009. Tipsarevic, at the peak of his form back then, won that encounter in straight sets.
At the moment, however, the veteran Serbian is playing under protected ranking. Having spent more than two seasons away from the tour, the 35-year-old Tipsarevic returned to action only this season. So far this year, things have been highly uneventful for the Serb. Playing in a mix of Challenger and ATP events to build his form, his efforts have been less than successful. The best he has managed is a quarterfinal run in Houston.
In Stockholm, he started with a win over Corentin Moutet in the opener, marking his first win in his last four appearances on the tour. Meanwhile, Fognini has enjoyed a bye into the first round after a pretty solid season. Currently ranked World No. 12, he has the Monte Carlo Masters title to his name, along with a few penultimate runs. Most recently, he reached the quarterfinal in the Rogers Cup and Shanghai Masters.
Between the two, Fognini will start this match as the overwhelming favourite to win. He has the form, experience, and momentum required to reach the next round.
Tip: Under 2.5 sets in the match: 19/20 with Unibet
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Denis Shapovalov v Alexei Popyrin Predictions & Preview
This is the first meeting between the two players on the circuit.
The 20-year-old Shapovalov has had a season to be proud of. Having made it to new heights in his career, the young Canadian will be eager to end the season on a high note. Among his highlights include quarterfinal runs in Rotterdam, Marseilles, and Lyon. He also had a scintillating run in the Miami Masters where he reached the semifinal.
Even in the recent weeks, Shapovalov has done well to retain that kind of momentum. Despite a slight loss in form in mid-season, he has done well to find his rhythm once again. Most recently, he was a semifinalist in the Chengdu Open. However, after that, he incurred a couple of early-round defeats in Tokyo and Shanghai.
Popyrin, on the other hand, hasn’t had this great of a year. Despite being the same age as that of the Canadian, his form has been on the other end of the spectrum. Following a few decent performances where he reached the third round or so, the young Aussie has spent the bulk of his year dealing with early-round exits, mostly as a qualifier. Even in Stockholm, he is starting as a qualifier and in the opener, he moved past Oscar Otte in straight sets.
For this match, we can expect Shapovalov to win without any major difficulties.
Tip: Shapovalov to win to win: 16/25 with Unibet
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Pablo Carreno Busta v Gianluca Mager Predictions & Preview
The two players have never met before on the ATP Tour.
Carreno Busta, seeded fifth for the tournament, started his campaign in Stockholm with a straight-set win over John Millman. With a win-loss tally of 25-19 and one singles title from the Chengdu Open, he has been in a pretty impressive form of late. Even in the US Open Series, he reached the third round, which is certainly a worthy accomplishment by his standards. Apart from this, he also reached the semifinal in Antalya and Hamburg.
As a former top 10 player, he is definitely a skilled opponent for any occasion.
On the other hand, the 24-year-old Italian Gianluca Mager is playing in Stockholm by the virtue of lucky loser. Having lost in the qualifiers, he got a new lease on life, at least in the competition. So far, he has clearly made the most of his chance by knocking out Pablo Andujar in the opening match. As for his season this year, the Italian has spent a significant amount of his time on the Challenger circuit where he won three titles. At the moment, he is ranked in the early 100s.
Carreno Busta will start this match as the favourite but we can expect him to run into some resistance here.
Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match: 11/20 with Unibet
Mikael Ymer v Cedrik-Marcel Stebe Predictions & Preview
The two players have never met before on the ATP Tour.
Ymer, the 21-year-old Swede who is playing in his home tournament as a wildcard, started his campaign with a straight set win over Joao Sousa. That was among his most impressive performances this season, given that he has been spending a lot of his time on the Challenger circuit, preparing for the main action. In fact, the young Swede arrived in Stockholm with two, back to back title runs on the Challenger Tour and is roaring with confidence right now.
As for Stebe, the 29-year-old German qualified for the main draw in the competition and defeated Brayden Schnur in the opener in straight sets. As for his ranking, he is currently World No. 213 and like Ymer, has spent a majority of his season on the Challenger circuit. However, he didn’t have a lot of success there. But at the same time, he had a surprisingly good run in ATP Gstaad, where he reached the final and lost to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
For this match, I would say that it can go either way although, Ymer will start as the odds-on favourite. He has the support of the local crowd and should be able to get this one.
Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match: 1/2 with Unibet