Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Winston-Salem match.
Roberto Bautista Agut
The two players have followed almost identical paths at their last few tournaments: early eliminations from the first event, two wins at the next, and then falling in the third outing. Bautista Agut played a week later at the Cincinnati Masters, where he went out in the third round to the in-form Ben Shelton (6:7, 3:6). The Spaniard served well — 77% first serves in with 78% of points won — but the real issue was his failure to convert any of eight break points. Still, that was against the newly crowned Toronto Masters champion.
Christopher O’Connell
The Australian, on the other hand, lost in the third round at Toronto for a different reason — he never made it on court against Alex de Minaur due to an abdominal strain. That same injury kept him out of Cincinnati. The question now is what shape O’Connell is in. Certainly not at his best. Yes, before withdrawing he did beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (6:4, 4:6, 6:2), the top seed here in Winston-Salem, but right now that result doesn’t look as impressive.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Christopher O’Connell Prediction
As mentioned, their only previous match went O’Connell’s way after a long battle — 2 hours 39 minutes, with the Australian taking it in three sets (3:6, 7:6, 6:4). Bautista Agut is seen as the favourite, but hard courts have never been his forte, and even less so this season (3 wins from 11). O’Connell isn’t a specialist either (5 from 13), yet he still looks to have a fair chance. If he has entered the tournament, it suggests the injury is behind him. We’re siding with Christopher with the cushion of a positive handicap.
