World no.9 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina will play in-form Russian Aslan Karatsev in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open on Friday, February 12. Timings of this match will be available upon the release of order of play. Get the live streaming options of this Diego Schwartzman v Aslan Karatsev match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Diego Schwartzman v Aslan Karatsev Head to Head
This will be a first-ever meeting between Schwartzman and Karatsev.
Also Read:
Schwartzman Ends Muller’s Run
Diego Schwartzman ended the fairytale run of French lucky loser Alexander Muller in a dominant 6-2 6-0 6-3 win to advance to the third round of the Australian Open for the fourth year in a row.
The Argentine put up a clinic. He only committed 13 unforced errors in a match that lasted 92 minutes, breaking Muller’s serve nine times. He won 40 out of 73 receiving points as he constantly put pressure on the Frenchman’s serve.
Schwartzman was momentarily threatened by Elias Ymer in his opening round match. He needed three hours of swinging his racket to beat the Swedish qualifier, but he was more adept at countering Muller’s baseline game. This was a mismatch in tennis rankings, between two players ranked 200 spots apart.
Schwartzman was part of Argentina’s team that was eliminated in the group stages at the ATP Cup, although he did record a singles win when he beat Kei Nishikori of Japan.
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Karatsev Romps Past Gerasimov
Before this year, Aslan Karatsev had never qualified for a spot in the main draw of a Grand Slam. But this week, he is among the high-flying qualifiers. No sooner had he picked up his maiden win than double it, in the span of three days.
Karatsev beat Gianluca Mager in the first round, but his gruesome defeat of Egor Gerasimov was palpable. He demolished the Belarusian 6-0 6-1 6-0 in an hour and 33 minutes. It was a performance that left Gerasimov reeling; the last time a player mastered one game in a Grand Slam was Nikoloz Basilashvili at the 2017 French Open when he lost to Nadal by the same bizarre scoreline.
The 27-year-old was on the offense for most of the afternoon, crunching 40 winners in the match. His brutal hitting had Gerasimov chasing shadows. Karatsev’s first serve was averaging at 190 kmh, and the man from Belarus won a meagre 31% of receiving points.
Ranked at no.114 in the world, Karatsev is guaranteed to break into the top 100 after the tournament. His game suggests he is playing much better than what his current ranking suggests anyway. The Russian is very much a late bloomer. He enjoyed a breakthrough year on the Challenger tour last season when he won back-to-back titles in Prague and Ostrava.
Karatsev was part of the Russian team that won the 2021 ATP Cup, but did not play in any of the singles matches.
Schwartzman v Karatsev Prediction and Tip
Karatsev is a player that should not be underestimated here. It was top level tennis, the manner in which he tore Gerasimov apart piece by piece. But Schwartzman is at the peak of his career right now, highlighted by his top 10 status in the ATP rankings. This should be a nip and tuck affair, with the Argentine holding the edge.
Tip: Over 3.5 sets: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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