We're in for a showdown between Matteo 'No Love Lost' Berrettini and Holger 'Skip to My' Rune. Let's have a quick preview.
Former number 12 seed, the red-hot Holger Rune has had one hell of a roller-coaster time recently, with victories against Nishikori, Nishioka, and Tabilo but losing to Fils A and Uchiyama. He's inconsistent, to say the least, but when he strikes, boy does he leave a mark. He’s already stuffed Berrettini in the virtual trophy case twice.
On the flip side, we got Matteo Berrettini. He may be unseeded but he's fresh off a victory against O'Connell and delivered vengeance on Fils A who recently bruised Rune. He's also found success against Van De Zandschulp and Ramos-Viñolas. But we cannot ignore his crushing loss to Fritz. Seems like he's figured something out, or at least we hope so, for his sake.
But as the saying goes, past performance does not guarantee future results. Although Berrettini has been riding high, Rune has had his number in past match-ups, and it's difficult to discount the psychological advantage that brings. The crowd will be looking for Rune to play his best tennis and net himself another win against Berrettini.
Albert’s Prediction: Rune in 3 sets.