Hubert Hurkacz vs Thanasi Kokkinakis Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Cincinnati Open

Prediction published on 15/08/2023, 04:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 15/08/2023 at 04:55 in Tennis Predictions

World number 19 Hubert Hurkacz will take on 77th-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round of the ATP Cincinnati Open on Tuesday. The winner of this match will move on to face Ben Shelton in the next round. These two have met twice in the past, with the head-to-head standings currently level at 1-1. Hurkacz comes into this match following a solid performance at the Canada Masters last week. He overcame Alexander Bublik and Miomir Kecmanovic in the first two rounds but came up against the formidable Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. Despite a resilient display, including winning the second set and taking the third to a tiebreaker, the Pole came up just short of the world number one. That followed a round of 16 appearance at Wimbledon, but there was also a first-round exit in Washington against Michael Mmoh wedged between. Hurkacz is now 27-17 for the year and 11-8 on the hard surface. He has only won two matches in five tournament entries here in Cincinnati but will be fairly confident in his chances with the form he has shown of late. Hurkacz is the current bookmaker's favourite. 

Meanwhile, Kokkinakis will be playing his third match here in Cincinnati following two qualifiers earlier in the tournament. During those two matches, he overcame higher-ranked opponents in Laslo Djere and Daniel Elahi Galan in two and three sets, respectively. Since stepping back onto the hard court after Wimbledon, Kokkinakis has made it past the first round of each of the next four tournaments leading up to this one; however, he has not gone past the second match. Last week in Canada, the Australian beat Zhizhen Zhang in the opening round and put on a very good showing against top-20-ranked Lorenzo Musetti but was beaten 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the end. Kokkinakis is now 33-19 for the year and 25-12 on the hard court. The last match between these players came in Mimi earlier this year and was an almighty battle, with all three sets requiring tiebreakers to decide. While the Aussie is an almost 3/1 underdog, he cannot be ruled out of this one just yet.