Daniil Medvedev vs Reilly Opelka Prediction & Betting Tips - Toronto, Canada

Prediction published on 15/08/2021, 08:08  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 15/08/2021 at 09:39 in ATP Toronto Predictions

Top seeded Daniil Medvedev bids to win his third singles title of the year. He takes on unseeded American Reilly Opelka in the final of the National Bank Open. Medvedev is the world number two and gradually closing in on the top spot currently held by Novak Djokovic. He's already won titles in Marseille and Monaco as well as being half of the Russian team that won the ATP Cup in Melbourne. The city he plays in doesn't have to start with an 'M' for him to win a title. He's the strong favourite to win this ATP 1000 tournament and that'll give him a major boost ahead of the US Open. He's had wins this week over Alexander Bublik, James Duckworth and Hubert Hurkacz, before defeating John Isner in straight sets in his semi-final. He's had four previous matches against Opelka and leads him 3-1. Their most recent match saw Medvedev beat the American in straight sets at the 2021 French Open.

Reilly Opelka is the world number 32 but up to 23rd in the live rankings. If he was to win this title then he'd go up to 16th place. The American made a slow start to 2021 and didn't even get to the last eight of a tournament until May. This is the second time this year he has gone deep in an ATP 1000 tournament after getting to the Rome Masters semi-final. His grass court season didn't go well but his North American hard court season has shown lots of improvement. He made it to the last eight in Atlanta last month and has continued that good form this week in Toronto. He's had wins over Nick Kyrgios, 14th seeded Grigor Dimitrov, Lloyd Harris, Roberto Bautista Agut (seeded 10th) and then defeated third seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas after losing the first set. That match had two tie-breaks, making it six for him in this tournament. Medvedev was highly impressive against in-form Isner, back him to win the title with a side-bet on a tie-break.