The first round matches at the 2019 Chengdu Open will be continued on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. Get the latest Pablo Carreno Busta v Radu Albot & Hyeon Chung v Joao Sousa tips and predictions with their previews along with other matches can be found below.
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Pablo Carreno Busta v Radu Albot Preview
The two players have met once, in 2018 at Wimbledon, which was won by Albot in five-setter, and this will be their second ever meeting on the tour.
Carreno Busta has been attempting to make a comeback to 2017 levels, after a dismal last year with injuries and poor form. While he has met with some success, he has been unable to maintain any level of consistency. The Spaniard did well to convincingly defeat top seed David Goffin in Metz last week, but surrendered meekly to Slovenian Aljaz Bedene the following week.
Radu Albot had a good start to 2019, winning his first ever ATP singles title at Delray Beach, and breaking into the top 40 of the ATP rankings for a career high ranking of 42nd. While he had some good results in the recently concluded US hard court season, he will be eager to be more consistent and move up further in the rankings during the last leg of this season.
With both players looking for a strong end to a season, this could make for an exciting match, with not much to choose between both players. Expect Carreno Busta to oust Albot in a close three-setter.
Tip: Carreno Busta to win in three sets: 5/2 with 888Sport
Hyeon Chung v Joao Sousa Preview
This will be the second meeting between the two players, after Chung won a convincing straight-set match at the Miami Open Masters 1000, in 2018.
Chung was the winner of the first ever ‘Next Gen’ ATP Finals in Milan in 2017, and continued his rise , defeating Novak Djokovic at the 2018 Australian Open before losing in the semi-finals to Roger Federer.
The last year or so, has been one plagued by injuries for the young Korean, who is currently on a comeback trail. He performed well on the ATP Challenger circuit this summer and did well to win an epic against Fernando Verdasco at the US Open, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the third round.
Joao Sousa has had a year that has seen some positives, like the round of 16 at Wimbledon, and some negatives, like a poor US hard court season with him struggling to win matches. Last week, was a surprisingly good run for the Portuguese, where he was a semi-finalist at the ATP 250 at St.Petersburg, defeating home favorite and top ten player Karen Khachanov en route.
Sousa will be looking to end his season strong, and Chung will be looking to further cement his comeback. We could be in for an exciting match, but intuitively Chung is not quite there yet, and should give Sousa the other. Expect a three-set win for the Portuguese.
Tip: Sousa to win: 17/10 with 888Sport
Dusan Lajovic v Juan Ignacio Londero Preview
This will be the first meeting between both players, whose games have proven to thus far be best suited to the clay.
Lajovic had a good first half of the season, being ranked just outside the top 20, winning the Croatia Open at Umag and being a finalist at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, beating top ranked players en route, eventually losing in the final to Fabio Fognini.
His hard court season was not overly promising and has not managed to maintain the consistency from the early part of this season.
Argentine Londero has also proven himself best on clay, winning his first ever title in Ecuador during the Latin American clay swing in February. He has had some promising wins on the hard courts, defeating Matteo Berrettini in Cincinnati and Sam Querrey at the US Open, but is yet to prove himself on the surface.
Expect a gritty battle between both players, with the young Argentine prevailing in two tight sets.
Tip: Londero to win in two sets: 6/4 with 888Sport
Fernando Verdasco v Alexei Popyrin Preview
In a cross-generational clash, 35-year-old Fernando Verdasco and 20-year-old Alexei Popyrin meet for the first time.
Veteran Verdasco has been a force to reckon with for a decade and a half on the tour, but has been in poor form since Wimbledon, with a host of first and second round losses since. While one cannot rule out the wily Verdasco, age may well be catching up with those tired legs in a ever strengthening ATP circuit.
Alexei Popyrin is only 20 years old, but at 6’5″ has a big serve and a powerful game. The young Aussie has been in good form this week, prevailing through the qualifiers, maintaining the form that saw him make the round of 32 at the US Open.
With the surface suited better to Popyrin’s style of play, expect the Aussie to prevail against an out of form Verdasco in straight sets.
Tip: Popyrin to win: 6/5 with 888Sport