Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Beijing match.
Jannik Sinner is motivated to avenge last year’s Beijing final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz and to return to peak form in order to keep pace in the ATP Race. Terence Atmane reached an impressive semi-final at the Cincinnati Masters and continues his ascent towards the top 50, but Beijing presents a tough examination.
Jannik Sinner
Sinner is a hard-court specialist who has recently ceded the tour lead but remains in superb form. He has suffered only two defeats on this surface this season, his first-serve points won stands above 81%, and he is averaging more than six aces per match. In the first round in Beijing, Jannik beat Marin Čilić (6:2, 6:2), showing complete control. Since last year, the Italian has won all seven matches against left-handers on hard courts, and in his head-to-head with Terence Atmane in Cincinnati (7:6, 6:2) he controlled the second set.
Terence Atmane
Atmane is a fearless left-hander who serves big and plays aggressively off both wings, especially in short rallies. Over the past two months he has moved closer to the top 50 thanks to that Cincinnati Masters semi-final, where he beat João Fonseca, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune, but in the semi-final against Jannik Sinner he could only keep it close for a set (6:7, 2:6). Terence has lost four of his previous six matches against top-10 opposition, and last week he lost to world No. 115 Dino Prižmić (4:6, 3:6). In Beijing the French benefited from the draw and beat Zhizhen Zhang (6:4, 6:2), who ranked only No. 370, yet he landed only 54% of his first serves even in that match.
Jannik Sinner vs Terence Atmane Prediction
Terence Atmane is unlikely to find this comfortable against Jannik Sinner. He struggles against top-10 players and has already lost to the Italian in Cincinnati, taking only eight games. The French player has dipped after his strong run in Cincinnati, as that defeat to Dino Prižmić indicates, and he should not sustain a prolonged challenge here. We expect a comfortable win for Jannik Sinner with a clear margin on games.
