World number 52 Sebastian Ofner will face the 90th-ranked Alexei Popyrin in the second round of the 2023 Croatia Open Umag on Wednesday, July 26. Get the predictions and odds of this Sebastian Ofner v Alexei Popyrin match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Sebastian Ofner v Alexei Popyrin Head to Head
Their previous two meetings have come on the Challenger circuit with both having won once apiece. They have never faced off on clay before this though.
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Ofner Gets Opening Round Bye
Ofner is 27, and has been around on the circuit for a while but has never broken into the top 50 of the rankings charts. At the time of writing he is ranked 52nd in the world and while on the live rankings, it seems that he has fallen to 57th, a good showing in this competition could take him back to his career-best.
In fact, a win here in his second round match after having earned a first round bye, will push him up into the top 50 for the first time in his career in the live rankings. Subject to some of the other results Ofner might even stay there for the first time in his career.
This has been thanks to the manner in which Ofner has come back this year and made the fourth round at the French Open and then gone on to win a Challenger title at Salzburg two weeks ago.
Last week, Ofner had also shocked Tomas Etcheverry and Bernabe Zapata Miralles to enter the quarterfinal where he was finally shown the door by Casper Ruud.
Can he now make it two quarterfinals in a row as he faces a player who shown great improvements on clay?
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Popyrin Continues with Clay Form
It’s been a season to remember for Popyin especially as far as clay court tennis is concerned and he continued to flourish on that surface with his solid opening round performance.
The Aussie recorded a straight-set win over Benjamin Bonzi in the first round of this competition to register his 11th victory of the year on clay across all tournaments and levels.
A fourth round entrant at the Rome Masters having started out as a qualifier in that tournament, Popyrin sealed off his second round berth here with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Bonzi. The match lasted nearly two hours.
Popyrin saved three break-points in the fourth game of the opening set before breaking Bonzi in the ninth game, and then served it out in the next. The second set should have been a lot easier than it turned out to be as Popyrin took a 3-1 lead and then earned himself four match-points at 5-3.
He failed to convert any of them, was broken in the very next game but then recovered to break right back and go 6-5 up. Very soon after that Popyrin had served out the match and marched into the second round.
Ofner v Popyrin Prediction and Tip
While Popyrin’s capabilities on clay this season cannot be denied, he is also up against a player who has been a lot more consistent on this surface. Backing Ofner to clinch it.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Ofner to win: 3/5
The 2023 ATP Umag will be played from July 24 to 30. 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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