Karen Khachanov vs Roberto Bautista-Agut Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 29/04/2023, 09:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/04/2023 at 11:18 in Tennis Predictions

Tenth seeded Karen Khachanov bids to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Masters for the first time. He takes on the 20th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in this outdoor clay court event. The winner will face either the fifth seeded Andrey Rublev or the 28th seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the next round. Khachanov was 12th in the rankings at the start of this event but is up to 11th in the live rankings. He was 20th at the start of the year but has risen up the list after a great start to 2023 with two last eight appearances and a semi-final in the Australian Open. He's been a bit inconsistent since then but a run to the last four in the Miami Masters has shown what he can do when in form. Khachanov is ninth in the Live ATP Race so he'll be hoping for a place in the ATP Finals at the end of this year. He's playing in his third clay court tournament of 2023 and reached the last 16 in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona. This week has seen him start his campaign in Madrid with a three-set win over Thiego Monteiro, losing the middle one.

Roberto Bautista Agut will be hoping to continue his impressive record against Khachanov. He's won six of their previous eight meetings but a closer look at the stats makes for interesting reading. The two wins that Khachanov has had were both on a clay court and Agut has never beaten him on this surface. The Spaniard started the week ranked 25th and remains in that position. He's 31st in the ATP Live Race, 22 places behind his opponent. It's been an inconsistent year for Agut with 11 wins and 11 defeats. He also had a good start down under reaching the final of the second Adelaide International event. However, he's not made it past the last 16 of any event since. On clay, the 35-year-old has the same record as Khachanov with two last 16s reached. In Madrid, Agut also had a three-set match in the second round and had to come from behind to get past Quentin Halys. This could be close but Khachanov is our tip to progresss.