11th seeded Borna Coric of Croatia will take on Frenchman Lucas Pouille in their fourth round encounter that will be played at the 2019 Australian Open.
Watch & bet on Borna Coric v Lucas Pouille live with bet365 here* on Monday, January 21. The Coric v Pouille match timings will not be played before 5 pm local time (7 am BST).
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Coric v Pouille Head to Head
Coric leads the Head-to-Head 2-0. Both matches came on hard courts, with Coric having won at the Indian Wells Masters in 2016, and Vienna Open last year.
Defensive Coric Plays Attacking Pouille in Fourth Round
Young Croat Borna Coric, after a breakthrough 2018, has had his best Grand Slam result already, reaching the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open. Given how his 2018 was, and coupled with the performances of the other ‘Next Gen’, notably Stefanos Tsitsipas, less than 24 hours ago, Coric would be looking to go deeper into week two certainly.
Coric has thus far delivered impressive performances, at Melbourne, in his first three rounds. Strong straight sets wins against Steve Darcis and Marton Fucsovics, were followed by a slightly more scratchy win against Filip Krajinovic.
With a solid game off both wings, Coric moves extremely, well and defends strongly from the corners. With shades of Novak Djokovic, Coric has the innate ability to grind down his opponents. Stronger on the backhand side, Coric has strengthened his forehand considerably in recent times.
His opponent in the next round is Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
Pouille: Can the Attacking Frenchman Break Coric’s Defense
Lucas Pouille, who was a promising talent in 2016, has had indifferent form in recent times. Pouille began the season, losing in the first round at Sydney. His campaign at the Australian Open has not been without challenges.
A straight set victory over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, was followed with a challenging four-set win over Germany’s Maximilian Marterer. His third round encounter with 19-year-old wildcard, Alexei Popyrin, was an epic contest with Pouille narrowly winning 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3.
With oodles of natural talent, Pouille has a powerful forehand, that is as good as any on the circuit. A natural volleyer, Pouille, would need to rely heavily on that to encounter Coric. Given Coric’s relentless baseline game, Pouille will need to keep points shorter, and cut down the rallies.
Borna Coric v Lucas Pouille Tips & Predictions
It will be a matchup of conflicting playing styles, with Coric’s grit, and Pouille’s attacking talents. While Pouille has the flair to attack any player on the circuit, his performance of late has lacked consistency.
Coric, on the other hand, has had a confident and consistent last 12 months. It promises to be an exciting match, with both players likely turning to their natural talents for supremacy.
Given how consistent and confident, Coric has been of late, it is hard to pick against him. Expect the Croat to win in four sets.
You can watch & bet on Borna Coric v Lucas Pouille live with bet365 here* on Tuesday, January 21.
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