The second set of group matches at the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals conclude on Wednesday and with us having the same set of players who were on show on Monday back in action, the tennis should be sizzling hot in Turin.
This is the day where the winners from Monday can take a serious step towards the semi-finals while the losers from the first day of action in these groups will be looking for a victory which gets their campaign back on track.
Day Session
Wesley Koolhof & Neal Skupski vs Nikola Mektic & Mate Pavic
The opening match of a wonderful Wednesday sees the two winning pairs from Monday on show when the number one seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski take on the Croatian partnership of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.
Koolhof and Skupski were on the wrong end of a blitz of big serves from Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first set of their opening match but admirably they stood firm and came back and dominated the latter stages of the contest. Mektic and Pavic were behind in their opening match as well and also did well to turn things around. That shows both of these teams can play well under pressure but we already knew that anyway as these are the last two year ending number one pairings. I fancy Koolhof and Skupski will get this done based on their form this year but there isn’t much between these two teams as evidenced in the prices. This could easily go down to a match tiebreak so I’m happy to leave this one alone.
Andrey Rublev vs Novak Djokovic
The first singles match of the day on Wednesday sees the two winners from Monday in action when Andrey Rublev takes on the lowest seed in the group in Novak Djokovic, although we all know he is the leading light in it.
These two met here a year ago and Rublev was easily beaten 6-3 6-2. He has won against Djokovic since then in Belgrade and there is certainly an element of these faster conditions being to his liking here but there was so much to like about the Djokovic victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday and you sense if he has that form with him then he is going to be very tough to beat here. I don’t see which weapons Rublev will be able to get into play long enough to take Djokovic down here. He might have enough in him to challenge him for a set and keep things respectable but I don’t see him winning. It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if Djokovic does a job on Rublev either so I’m happy to leave this one alone.
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Night Session
Ivan Dodig & Austin Krajicek vs Thanasi Kokkinakis & Nick Kyrgios
It is all about bouncing back from a defeat in the night session doubles on Wednesday evening when Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek meet the Australian Open champions Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios with both pairs looking to stay alive.
Both teams will have been disappointed to lose their opening match but the fact they both lost from competitive positions will have annoyed them even more. To be fair to Kokkinakis and Kyrgios you would have expected them to need the run before hitting top speed in this event given the inactivity of both recently and their lack of tournaments together. With that in mind, it is very much a positive that they took a set off the number one seeds Koolhof and Skupski. They faded a touch in the latter part of the match but they should be stronger for the outing and I think this match is on their racquets. The Kyrgios serve is a real weapon and Kokkinakis showed some good things in the opening match. I think they have the beating of the Croatia-America pairing.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Daniil Medvedev
It might be that the best of the matches on the fourth day of action is saved for last as two of the best players in the world look to get their campaign back on track when Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev look to overcome opening defeats.
Tsitsipas probably drew the short straw in that he had to go up against Novak Djokovic in his first game. He lost the match but he kept things relatively close, close enough that his campaign can be salvaged. Medvedev went into his first game with Andrey Rublev as a heavy favourite but he went down in a deciding set tiebreak in what was a brilliant tennis match. The form of the Russian was good in that game and a repeat of that performance might well be enough to win this one but I sense Tsitsipas would have taken plenty from his loss to Djokovic in his first game. I’m looking forward to a cracking contest here but it doesn’t look like one to bet on in my eyes.
Tips
Back T.Kokkinakis & N.Kyrgios to beat I.Dodig & A.Krajicek for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfair
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