World number 40 Sebastian Baez will be up against the 93rd-ranked Alexander Shevchenko in the second round of the 2023 ATP Rome Open on Friday, May 12. Get the predictions and odds of this Sebastian Baez v Alexander Shevchenko match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Sebastian Baez v Alexander Shevchenko Head to Head
Baez and Shevchenko have never faced off before this.
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Baez Eases Past Varillas
There were a few hiccups in some portions of his first round match at the Rome Masters but Baez found a way to come through and carve out a straight-set win over Juan Pablo Varillas.
Baez took a shade over two hours to register his 7-5, 6-3 victory, shrugging off a run of underwhelming form more recently.
Having won just one of his previous five matches on clay, Baez had fallen to 40th in the world – losing 10 places from his career-best as a result of those poor results – and that lack of confidence was on show in snatches during this match.
The Argentine lost his serve in the ninth game of the opening set to give Varillas a chance to serve it out. Instead, Baez stormed back with successive breaks of serve to wrap up the set before he went 4-1 up in the second.
While Varillas broke back in the seventh game, Baez took advantage of his opponent’s poor serve in the very next game to clinch the encounter.
He will start a heavy favourite against the lucky loser Shevchenko.
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Shevchenko Makes Direct Entry into Round Two
As qualifiers go, lucky losers making a direct entry into the second round are the most fortunate and Shevchenko has been the latest beneficiary of that fortune.
With Tallon Griekspoor opting out of the tournament because of fitness concerns, Shevchenko has taken his place in the second round despite having crashed out of the second round of the qualifiers.
It was a surprise loss too what with Arthur Fils having entered that match as 5/3 underdog and still won in straight sets.
This follows a solid run for Shevchenko in the Madrid Masters where the Russian had again come through the qualifiers to enter the third round on the back of wins over JJ Wolf and Jiri Lehecka. These are two big-ticket players outside of the top 20 and to defeat them speaks volumes about his form.
Can he make life difficult for Baez here though?
Baez v Shevchenko Prediction and Tip
We think Baez would be able to shrug off the recent form concerns and clinch this. Might not be the most straightforward of wins but he should still come through in two.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Baez to win: 1/2
- Moderate Risk Tip: Over 21.5 games in the match: 5/6
The 2023 ATP Rome Open will be played from May 9 to 21. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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