It’s the first day of ATP action in Kitzbuhel and there are seven matches to get through. We’ve split our predictions articles in two–four of them in this article, including a tantalizing first round between Cristian Garin and Federico Coria, and the other three predictions in a separate article.
ATP Kitzbuhel Day 1 Predictions
Vit Kopriva vs Joao Sousa
Head-to-head: First meeting
Who could forget Vit Kopriva’s run in Gstaad just over a year ago today. He defeated Denis Shapovalov from a lowly ranking of #249 in the world–many pundits called it a poor loss for the Canadian but generally wins like this are no fluke. Kopriva has plenty of firepower and, unfortunately for Sousa, he’ll have settled into the conditions nicely having come through qualifying.
Beware the qualifier at high altitude. The tricky conditions could give Kopriva a massive advantage out the gates – Sousa also generally has a pretty bad record at altitude and his form has gone sour of late. We can see Kopriva taking advantage.
Prediction: Kopriva in 3
Hernan Casanova vs Jurij Rodionov
Head-to-head: First meeting
Whilst we stand by our warning to pay a qualifier at high altitude some respect, Hernan Casanova is quite frankly lucky to be here having survived match point in his final qualifying round against Daniel Dutra Da Silva. Bottom line is the Argentine isn’t playing overwhelming tennis.
The other side of that coin is Casanova may be playing with house money – though we’re betting this will only be enough to earn him a set. Jurij Rodionov has historically played well when playing at home plus Casanova is the lowest ranked player he’ll have played at ATP level. Rodionov should jump at the chance.
Prediction: Rodionov in 2
Daniel Dutra Da Silva vs Filip Misolic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Though he’s spent around 13 years on the tour, aforementioned lucky loser Dutra Da Silva is playing in only his second ATP main draw event. This is likely to be an incredibly tight match for the Brazilian who will be feeling immense pressure to perform.
Filip Misolic is used to playing higher level tennis week-in-week-out and will revel at the opportunity to win a main draw match at home. His Challenger run in Zagreb should also fill him with confidence.
Prediction: Misolic in 2
Federico Coria vs Cristian Garin
Head-to-head: Coria 2-1 Garin
This is a tough match to call. Normally the head-to-head between two players says a lot but Federico Coria was able to notch two wins over Cristian Garin in a period devoid of confidence for the Chilean. We should assume Garin has picked his form up from a patchy end of 2021 to the start of 2022. If both players are playing something near their best tennis, there won’t be much to separate them.
There is one match-up differential which could make all the difference, however: Garin can struggle to find the control required to land his flat backhand at altitude. It’s a factor that could be crucial if things get tight so we’ll back Coria by a whisker.
Prediction: Coria in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
