Roman Safiullin - Marco Cecchinato predictions and free betting tips [28/08/2023]

In the first round of the US Open on hard court, Russia's Roman Safiullin squares off against Italy's Marco Cecchinato. We're betting on a Safiullin victory with a -7.5 games handicap.

Roman Safiullin

25-year-old Roman Safiullin, currently 61st in the world rankings, comes into the tournament with a string of three defeats. In both Winston-Salem and Cincinnati, the tennis player lost in the initial rounds to Cerundolo with a score of 6:7 (5:7), 6:3, 3:6 and Harris 6:4, 3:6, 3:6. However, prior to this, at Wimbledon, Roman delivered excellent results and advanced to the quarter-finals. Throughout the tournament, he claimed victories against Bautista-Agut with a score of 2:6, 7:6 (9:7), 6:7 (4:7), 6:4, 7:5, Moutet 7:5, 6:3, 7:6 (7:4), Pella 7:6 (7:1), 6:4, 6:0, and Shapovalov with a score of 3:6, 6:3, 6:1, 6:3, but later lost to Sinner 4:6, 6:3, 2:6, 2:6.

At the end of June, Safiullin competed in the tournament in Mallorca, and in the qualifying matches, he defeated Moro Canas with a score of 7:5, 6:1 and McCabe with a score of 7:5, 4:6, 7:6 (7:5). Next, in the main draw of the tournament, he overcame Shelbayh with a score of 6:1, 6:4, but lost to Harris with a score of 6:7 (5:7), 3:6. At the end of June at the tournament in Halle, Safiullin also successfully passed the qualifiers, but then lost to Struff.

Safiullin has shown good form on clay court tournaments, he has claimed 4 victories, in two qualifiers, and reached the third rounds in both Rome and Madrid. In Rome, he defeated Sousa, Copriva, Hirona, and Korda, but lost to Popyrin afterwards. After unsuccessful performances in Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Banja Luka in April, Safiullin showed his good form at the tournament in Madrid. He successfully passed the qualifier, defeating Sousa and Ofner, and in the main draw he claimed victories against Harris and Paul. However, in the next match against Zapata Miralles, Roman suffered a defeat.

In early February, Safiullin claimed the title at the Koblenz Challenger, defeating Blankano, Escoffier, Vatutin, Collignon, and Pospisil.

Marco Cecchinato

30-year-old Marco Cecchinato, currently 109th in the world rankings, has faced struggles since the end of May and has won just one match out of the last 12. In Winston-Salem, Banja Luka, and Kitzbühel, the tennis player lost in the first rounds to Purcell with a score of 4:6, 1:6, Madaras 2:6, 1:6, and Galan with a score of 2:6, 2:6. Earlier, Marco participated in the tournament in Umag, where he battled with Shevchenko, losing to him with a score of 4:6, 7:6 (7:0), 6:3, however in the subsequent match against Sonego he suffered a loss with a score of 1:6, 6:7 (7:9). This happened after a period of disappointment, during which Marco suffered a streak of seven consecutive defeats.

At the tournament in Bastad, Cecchinato lost to Kotov with a score of 1:6, 2:6, at the Challenger in Braunschweig - to Hassan with a score of 5:7, 6:7 (1:7), at Wimbledon - to Harris 6:4, 2:6, 4:6, 1:6, in Eastbourne - to McDonald 3:6, 3:6, in Heilbronn - to Santillan 5:7, 3:6, and at the French Open, Marco faced Van de Zandschulp, losing to him with a score of 1:6, 1:6, 3:6.

In mid-May, Cecchinato competed in the Rome tournament, where he reached the third round, beating McDonald and Bautista-Agut, but subsequently lost to Hanfmann. At the Madrid tournament, Cecchinato successfully made it through the qualifier, defeating Skatov and Zeppieri, and in the main draw he overcame Fucsovics, but suffered a defeat at the hands of De Minaur. In early April, at the clay-court tournament in Estoril, Marco advanced to the semi-finals, overcoming Schwartzman, Fognini, and Davidovich Fokina, but lost to Kecmanovic.

Head to Head

The athletes have not previously played against each other.

Prediction for the Safiullin - Cecchinato match

Given Marco Cecchinato's performance on hard court, it's clear that Roman Safiullin is the favourite in this match. Even on clay, which is considered Cecchinato's preferred surface, his results are less than desirable, having only one hard-court victory over the past two years, and that was against an out-of-form Basilashvili. In contrast, Safiullin has shown good results at Wimbledon, reaching the quarter-finals, and I believe he will triumph in the upcoming match.