After a long game on Saturday, in which yesterday morning two of the quarter-finals took place due to rain, the final at the Munich Open tennis tournament in Bavaria was decided. It’s hard to say that it will be the last game everyone was expecting, but it looks like it will provide a lot of entertainment as both players are undoubtedly out to win the trophy. But who will take the lead in Munich?
Munich Open Final predictions
Nikoloz Basilashvili opposite Jan Lennard Struve
Face to face: Basilashvili 3-3 Struve
Sometimes you run out of words to describe Nikoluz Basilashvili. In the past, he was one of the worst players in the top 50, including most of 2019 and 2020. In fact, last season he lost almost every game he played and saw a dire streak that resulted in nine straight defeats with only included three wins. This year has been better but he still hits hard and is lacking as well as his style of play. After apparently winning the title in Doha out of nowhere and beating Roger Federer en route, he lost five of his last seven games when he arrived in Munich.
The Georgian has only managed three games in his last two defeats (although one of them retired) but at the Munich Open tennis tournament it was a different proposition. That round came as a surprise, as did his efforts in Doha, but he played very well, overtaking Thiago Monteiro, Daniel Ilahi Galan, Norbert Gombos and Casper Rudd. His victory over the Norwegian runner-up was particularly impressive. Basilashvili sent off a Monte Carlo semi-finalist 6-1 and 6-2.
In the final, 31-year-old Jan Lennard Struve will be at the start. The German eventually broke his duck in the ATP semifinals after losing his previous seven. He had to work hard for his place in the final, but after winning the tiebreaker in the last set against Philippe Krajinovi in the quarter-finals, a match many expected to lose, Struve found another tool to help Ilya Ivashka, the destroy conqueror of Alexander. Zverev lost only five games in the semifinals in a 6: 4: 6: 1 defeat.
This is without a doubt one of the greatest games of Struve’s career and it will be interesting to see if he has any nerve. The seventh seed may have more chances of winning a title in the future, but he will certainly try desperately not to end his career as Julian Benito as the Frenchman can never win an individual title despite his generally stellar career.
It is not surprising that their face-to-face encounters are drawn 3-3, as four of those games have been played at the ATP level in the past two years. The surprise is that Germany’s victory in the main round was pretty routine. Struve scored a 6-1, 6-0 win in Dubai and a 6-4, 6-2 win at the ATP Paris Masters in Dubai last weekend. Season. Perhaps this is further evidence of Basilashvili’s sin. Even more important, however, was their last mud meeting in Cagliari.
Basilashvili defeated Struve that day and won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Seems well placed to take another win. Simply put, when he’s in good shape he’s a better player than Struve. They both have great games, and Struve is hands down the best server, but it looks like the German is struggling with basic exchanges. His backhand remains a major weakness that Basilashvili is sure to take advantage of. Struve may have a better chance on hard court, but on clay it seems like a big request from him to keep Basilashvili at all times.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 2
Main picture:
Embed from Getty Images
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