World No. 6 and the fifth seed Kevin Anderson will start his Australian Open campaign against the veteran Frenchman and the World No. 41 Adrian Mannarino.
Watch & bet on Kevin Anderson v Adrian Mannarino with bet365 here* on Monday, January 14. The Anderson v Mannarino first round match will start at 11:00 am local time (12:00 am BST).
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Anderson v Mannarino Head to Head
The two players share a rivalry that can be dated back to 2008. However, in that year, they mainly met in the Challenger and Futures events where Anderson dominated heavily.
As for their meetings on the ATP Tour, they have met a total of five times and Anderson currently leads by 4-1. Their most recent encounter took place in the 2018 ATP Acapulco, where the South African No. 1 won in straight sets. As for Mannarino’s last win over Anderson, it came in the 2012 ATP Auckland.
Anderson’s Winning Start to the Year
Kevin Anderson started his 2019 season by competing in the Maharashtra Open, where he successfully won the title after defeating Ivo Karlovic in the final in three massive sets. The South African kept his nerve and fought his highly determined opponent to start his season on a winning note.
Before travelling to Pune for the competition, he participated in the Mubadala World Tennis Championships, where he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic.
Anderson rose to glory in 2018 when he reached his career-high singles ranking as the World No. 6. The 32-year-old South African has shown no sign of slowing down and is inching closer and closer to his first Grand Slam. In fact, he is a serious contender for the Aus Open.
He was the runner-up at the Wimbledon last year, where he lost to Djokovic in the final. He was also a semifinalist at the Madrid Masters and Rogers Cup. All in all, he won a total of two singles titles – the ATP Vienna and ATP New York. He also qualified for the ATP Finals but lost to Djokovic, once again, in the semifinal.
Mannarino – A Man Determined to Rise
In 2018, the 30-year-old Adrian Mannarino became the World No. 22 – his best singles ranking so far. However, over the course of the season, his form took a drop and consequently, he slipped sharply in the rankings.
Except for his stint at the ATP Antalya and Kremlin Cup, where he was the runner-up, he failed to move past the early stages in most of the competitions. However, he did reach the fourth round at the Wimbledon where he lost to Roger Federer.
He ended his season at the Paris Masters where he lost to Kei Nishikori in the second round. As for his run in 2019 so far, he played in Doha and Sydney and in both the cases, he lost his opening matches.
Anderson v Mannarino – Who Will Win?
Anderson is heading into this fixture on the back of soaring confidence and momentum. Additionally, given their history, he holds a psychological edge over his French adversary. While we can expect Mannarino to put up a fight, Anderson shouldn’t face a lot of difficulties in winning this one.
You can watch & bet on Kevin Anderson v Adrian Mannarino with bet365 here* on Monday, January 14.
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