Jan 20, 2023; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Sebastian Korda of the United States hits a shot against Daniil Medvedev of Russia on day five of the 2023 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
The ATP Astana Open has become a full time ATP event this season after three successful editions of the event from 2020-2022. The previous 28-man draw was reduced to four as Sebastian Korda, Adrian Mannarino, Hamad Medjedovic, and Sebastian Ofner battled it out for the title. The aforementioned squares off with Korda vs. Medjedovic and Mannarino vs. Ofner. But who will advance to the final?
ATP Astana Semifinal Predictions
Adrian Mannarino vs. Sebastian Ofner
Head to head: first meeting
The No. 6 seed Adrian Mannarino is in his third semifinal of the season after three hard-fought victories in Astana. The veteran Frenchman holds a 14-4 record since Wimbledon. He competed against 27-year-old Austrian Sebastian Ofner for the first time. Ofner, who came into this event out of form, defeated Fucsovics, Bublik, and Thiem this week. He favors clay as his best surface but has hit the ball well this week on Astana’s hard courts. In this matchup, I struggled to see how Ofner would deal with Mannarino’s trickery. The lefty should be able to command most of the rallies, forcing his counterpart into a bunch of unforced errors.
Prediction: Mannarino in 2
Sebastian Korda vs. Hamad Medjedovic
Head to head: first meeting
Sebastian Korda quietly eased into his third ATP semifinal in his last four tournaments. The 23-year-old American has had an up-and-down injury-riddled season, but has found solid form on hard courts in the past month. He will take on Serbian wildcard Hamad Medjedovic in the ATP Astana semis. Medjedovic enters this bout on an eight-game winning streak. The 20-year-old holds a career-high live ranking of No. 105 because he racked up wins against Djere, Shevchenko, and Lehecka this week (without dropping a set). Both players bring a high level of groundstroke fire power to this match, but I trust the consistency of the American to win. His service can also be a big advantage.
Prediction: String of 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports