Alexei Popyrin - Sebastian Korda predictions and free betting tips [28/09/2023]

In the 1/16 finals of the championship in Astana on hard court, Alexei Popyrin from Australia will clash with Sebastian Korda from the USA. We're betting on Korda's victory with a handicap of -2.5 games.

Alexei Popyrin

24-year-old Alexei, who ranks 45th in the world, previously participated in the US Open where he lost to Stricker scoring 3:6, 4:6, 6:3, 3:6. Before that in Cincinnati, the tennis player advanced to the quarter-finals, defeating Altmaier 6:7 (5:7), 6:4, 6:4, Harris, who had to forfeit the match, and Ruusuvuori 6:2, 1:6, 6:3, but lost to Hurkacz 1:6, 6:7 (8:10). Earlier, Popyrin went through the qualification for the tournament, defeating Ivashka 6:2, 4:6, 6:4, but lost to Pursell 7:6 (8:6), 5:7, 4:6.

At the end of July, Popyrin seized the title at the tournament in Umag, where he managed to beat Bonzi 6:4, 7:5, Ofner 6:4, 6:1, Prizmic 7:6 (7:2), 7:5, Arnaldi 6:7 (2:7), 7:5, 6:3 and Wawrinka 6:7 (5:7), 6:3, 6:4. Prior to this, the tennis player suffered nine defeats out of 12 matches, losing in the first round of five tournaments. At Wimbledon he lost to Stricker, in Hurlingham - to Ruud, in London - to Thompson, at the Surbiton Challenger - to Saville, and at the French Open - to Karatsev.

In May, in Rome, Popyrin overcame the qualification by defeating Bonadio and Pellegrino. Subsequently, in the main bracket of the tournament, he handled O'Connell, Auger-Aliassime and Safiullin before losing to Rune. At the Masters in Madrid, Popyrin failed to advance past the first round, losing to Gali. However, he also showed his good form, successfully going through the qualification for the tournament in Monte Carlo, defeating Paire and Kopriva, and also defeating Lajovic in the main grid. In the rest of the tournaments of the season, the tennis player did not win more than two matches in a row.

Sebastian Korda

23-year-old Sebastian, who ranks 33rd in the world, previously participated in the tournament in Zhuhai, where he reached the semi-finals. As part of the tournament, he coped with Müller 6:1, 2:6, 6:3 and Etcheverry 6:1, 6:2, but yielded to Khachanov 5:7, 4:6. At the US Open, Korda lost to Fucsovics 6:7 (4:7), 6:4, 6:7 (1:7), 6:4, 4:6, and in Winston-Salem, he reached the semi-finals. At the championship, he defeated Bonzi 6:2, 6:3, Fucsovics 7:6 (7:5), 6:3, and Gasquet 6:4, 1:6, 6:7 (7:9), but had to withdraw from the semi-finals.

In previous tournaments, the player suffered six losses out of seven matches, in Cincinnati he yielded to Coric 6:7 (5:7), 4:6, in Toronto - to Vukic 3:6, 6:4, 6:7 (5:7), in Washington - to Shevchenko 5:7, 7:6 (7:4), 6:4, at Wimbledon - to Vesely 6:7 (7:9), 6:4, 2:6, 3:6, and in Budlz Challenge - to Coric 3:6, 6:3, 4:10.

In June at the tournament in London, Sebastian showed good play, reaching the semi-finals and beating Evans 6:4, 7:5, Tiafoe 7:6 (7:2), 6:3, and Norrie 6:4, 7:6 (7:1), however lost the next match to Alcaraz 3:6, 4:6. At the French Open, Korda defeated McDonald 6:4, 7:5, 6:4, but then lost to Ofner 3:6, 6:7 (1:7), 4:6.

At the beginning of the current season at the tournament in Adelaide, the tennis player reached the final, where he conceded to Djokovic. Previously he defeated Murray, Bautista-Agut, Sinner and Nishioka. At the Australian Open, he reached the quarter-finals, defeating Garin, Watanuki, Medvedev and Hurkacz, however due to injury had to stop the quarter-final match with Khachanov. After this he was absent from the tournament for about three months.

Head-to-Head

The athletes earlier played in 2020 as part of the Eckental Challenger on hard court, which ended in Korda's victory scoring 6:4, 6:4.

Prediction for the match Popyrin - Korda

Korda shows a more confident game on hard court, which is confirmed by the result of their earlier meeting. I'm betting on the American's victory.