Andreas Seppi vs Nikoloz Basilashvili Tennis Prediction
Nikoloz Basilashvili won their only previous meeting which came at ATP Lyon last season (R16, 6-4 6-4). However, Andreas Seppi is playing much better this season and should fancy his chances.
Andreas Seppi News
Andreas Seppi comfortably dispatched the Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny in just over an hour to advance into the quarterfinal of ATP Budapest on his debut appearance, 6-1 6-2. Earlier this week, he fought back from a set and break down against compatriot Thomas Fabbiano in the first round, 4-6 7-5 6-3.
After starting his clay season with two tough defeats against Lucas Pouille at the Davis Cup (five sets) and Radu Albot in Marrakech (three sets), the Italian won four matches as a qualifier at the Monte Carlo Masters last week and he seems to be building on the momentum with another fine run at Budapest this week.
This is an excellent start to the season for Andreas Seppi considering the way he finished his 2017 season (minus w/l ratio and was competing at the Challenger events). He has so far won 20 matches in 2018, including a title at Canberra Challenger and a semifinal at ATP Rotterdam.
The last time Seppi made the quarterfinal of a tour-level clay event was in 2016 at ATP Nice, where he lost to Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
Nikoloz Basilashvili News
Nikoloz Basilashvili thoroughly outplayed the Next Gen Star Denis Shapovalov (6-2 6-4) to register his second straight set win of the week (Paolo Lorenzi in R1, 6-4 6-2).
The Georgian, who was going through a seven-match losing run between February and March, has now made three consecutive quarterfinals in three clay events. However, he lost the previous two, against Guido Andreozzi at Tunis Challenger and Joao Sousa in Marrakech.
It was important for Nikoloz Basilashvili to get his career back on track as he gathered a lot of momentum by winning over 120 matches in the last three seasons, including four Challenger titles (two on clay).
Tennis Prediction: Andreas Seppi
Odds: 1.63
