Alex De Minaur vs Diego Sebastián Schwartzman Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Japan Open

Prediction published on 17/10/2023, 08:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 17/10/2023 at 09:00 in Tennis Predictions

After a tough first round match, fourth seed Alex de Minaur takes on unseeded Diego Schwartzman. Possible opponents in the next round (which is the quarter finals) include sixth seed Frances Tiafoe and Shanghai Masters winner Hubert Hurkacz. De Minaur is 13th in both the overall and ATP Race and had to go to three sets to get past Jack Draper in the first round of this hard court Japan Open. The Australian lost the first set but then won the next two, both on a tie-break. De Minaur needed that win to keep alive his outside chance of reaching the Tour Finals. He'd lost three of his last four matches in singles tournaments, though two of the losses were against Daniil Medvedev. He'll want to recapture the form that saw him reach hard court finals in Los Cabos and Toronto. 

Diego Schwartzman is down at 113th in the latest rankings. The Argentinian was ranked 18th at this time last year but as low as 136th last month. Before this tournament he had won only 12 of his 35 ATP Tour matches played this year and has even struggled on his favored clay court surface. He did show a glimpse of the form that made him a top ten player in the past when reaching the last 16 in Shanghai last week. That included a win over Taylor Fritz who is the top seed in this Japan Open. Before that tournament though he'd lost his last five ATP Tour main draw matches and failed to qualify in Cincinnati. This week has seen him beat fellow Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets. He trails de Minaur 1-0 in previous meetings. That was on grass earlier this year with Schwartzman only winning four games. We go for de Minaur to get the win here.