World No. 35 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will square off against Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik in the first round of the 2023 Swedish Open on Tuesday, July 18. Get the predictions and odds of this Alejandro Davidovich Fokina v Jozef Kovalik match along with its preview, head-to-head, and tips here.
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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina v Jozef Kovalik Head to Head
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jozef Kovalik have played once, and the Spaniard won that match at the 2022 Hamburg Open in straights ets.
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Fokina Left To Rue Missed Opportunity At Wimbledon
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina missed the chance to advance into the fourth round of Wimbledon after being on the wrong of a chaotic five-set defeat to Holger Rune.
The Spaniard had two match points on Rune’s serve deep in the fifth set, but couldn’t take any. And then forged a 6-2 lead in the 10-point final-set tiebreak, and a further 8-5 lead, but a moment of poor decision-making that saw him hit an underarm serve at 8-all left everyone watching bemused.
Davidovich Fokina lost that point and ended up losing the match. Although his decision to pull out the underarm serve at such a critical moment in the match backfired, the Spaniard said he had no regrets.
It looked like he was back to his best at Wimbledon, snapping a three-match losing streak and picking his first win on grass this year. But that defeat could have a considerable effect on his emotional state, and it will be interesting to see how he picks himself up.
Just like last year, Davidovich Fokina will make a brief stop on clay this month, starting with Bastad, where last year, lost in the round of 16 against Sebastian Baez.
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Kovalik Edges Out Olivieri to Qualify
Jozef Kovalik earned his spot in the main draw of an ATP event for just the second time this season. And unsurprisingly it is on clay again, with his first coming in Barcelona in mid-April.
The Slovak has been a disappointing presence on the Challenger Tour this season, posting an 8-11 record so far, and managed one quarterfinal all year, and that only came recently in Braunschweig this past week.
And it looks like he cashed in on that recent momentum in Bastad, taking down Viktor Durasovic 6-4, 7-5 and fast-improving Argentine Genaro Olivieri 7-6, 6-4.
Kovalik maintained a solid level throughout against a player who made the third round of Roland Garros as a qualifier at the start of June. Despite fluffing his lines at two set points on his serve at 5-3, Kovalik comfortably won the set in a tiebreak.
An early break at the start of the second set helps the Slovak to build on his lead. He saved three break points before completing a straight-sets win.
Davidovich Fokina v Kovalik Prediction and Tip
Kovalik’s recent momentum has come out of nowhere, so it will be a major shock if he even manages to stretch Davidovich Fokina who is playing his first match since Wimbledon. We expect smooth sailing for the World No. 35 here.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Davidovich Fokina to win in straight sets: 4/6
The 2023 ATP Bastad will be played from July 17 to 23. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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