The remaining second round matches at the 2019 ATP Kremlin Cup in Moscow will be played on Wednesday, October 17 with Marin Cilic in action as well. Below you can get the preview of Marin Cilic v Ivo Karlovic & Andrey Rublev v Egor Gerasimov tips, previews and predictions below.
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Marin Cilic v Ivo Karlovic Predictions & Preview
Two Croats facing off in the second round of the Kremlin Cup and that will be the seventh match of their careers. It’s 3-3 on head to head at the moment for them, which excludes one match in which Karlovic had withdrawn after playing just one set.
Cilic has had an iffy year. Once ranked third in the world, the fall to 25th might not have been spectacular but the former US Open winner and Australian Open finalist has had a year to forget. In fact things have gone so bad that since winning his first ever title way back in 2008 this is the first year – at least so far – he hasn’t won one so far. Forget winning one, Cilic hasn’t even made it to the semi-final of any tournament.
Karlovic, now 87th on the ATP charts, is one of the tallest guys on the circuit, but his form has faded away quicker than Cilic’s. Since 2017, in fact, he has lost more than he has won, and that he won his opener here was a surprise by itself. It took him three sets, and a tie-breaker in the final to edge past Aljaz Bedene and despite the obvious issues for Cilic, this looks like it’s headed just one way.
Tip: Cilic to win in straight sets: 1/1 with Unibet
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Andrey Rublev v Egor Gerasimov Predictions & Preview
Who would have guessed that Andrey Rublev and Egor Gerasimov have played each other thrice before this and each time, the 98th-ranked from Belarus Gersimov has won. All those encounters, however, came in the 2013-2014 period and might not count for a lot at the moment with Rublev having grown as a player and even made it to the fourth round at the US Open recently.
Rublev is coming off a three-set win over 22-year-old Alexander Bublik, while Gerasimov, who needed a couple of victories at the qualifying stage, defeated Thomas Fabbiano in his opener. Other than that, Gerasimov has moved back into the top 100 of the rankings with some solid performances all year but is yet to break the top 90 mark in his career so far.
A win here against Rublev might help him in that endeavour but the Russian is a tough nut to crack against most peers and lower-ranked players should come through in this one.
Tip: Rublev to win: 3/5 with Unibet
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Miomir Kecmanovic v Jeremy Chardy Predictions & Preview
49th-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic will take on 66th-ranked Jeremy Chardy in this second round encounter at the Kremlin Cup, facing off for the first time in their careers. Both players have shown an opposite trend, with Kecmanovic risen to 49th at the moment, two away from his best ever and Chardy with a 29-26 win-loss record this year fallen down the ladder.
Chardy has hope though. He was a straight-set winner over Nicolas Jarry in the first round after having made it to the second round at both, the China Open and Shanghai Masters after going through the qualifiers. And the losses in those tournaments came at the hands of Karen Khachanov and Alexander Zverev – both, in two tie-breakers.
That is also why, despite his poor season and worse ranking, he starts off as a favourite in this one. Slight one but a favourite all the same and think he should win as well.
Tip: Chardy to win: 5/7 with Unibet
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Nikola Milojevic v Alen Avidzba Predictions & Preview
This is one of the more interesting second round ties you would see in recent times of a tournament at the ATP 250 level. On the one side is a 164th-ranked Nikola Milojevic while facing him for the first time in their careers is Alen Avidzba who is nearly 500th on the charts.
And while Milojevic has been playing at the Challenger circuit before this, Avidzba’s showing has been at the Futures competitions.
Very interestingly, Milojevic’s entry to the main draw as a lucky loser came after the withdrawal of Daniil Medvedev, and that meant he was given a first round bye and made a direct entry into the second. Before this, he was yet to win a main draw match this season, having just won two qualifiers over the four Grand Slam competitions.
And now he has an opportunity to get to the quarter-finals of an ATP 250 given the opponent he’s playing is so far down the pecking order. Avidzba had his own fortune in the draw, having set up against another Russian wild-card and he came through in three sets. Milojevic will, however, start off a heavy favourite to win this and probably even in straight sets.
Tip: Milojevic to win in straight sets: 3/4 with Unibet
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