ATP Tournament in Halle, Round of 16, Wednesday, 15.06.2022
Actually, the fans of the ATP tournament in Halle had been looking forward to the appearance of top star Alexander Zverev, but after his serious injury, the other big names will have to cause a stir.
On Wednesday, the first players will make their way to the quarter-finals. And although the number 19 should actually be ahead of the number 41, the betting providers tested see the weaker player ahead in the rankings.
In my Carreno Busta Korda tip, I reveal why I would also make this betting recommendation!
Whoever travels to Halle seeded sixth should be on your radar – or should he? Pablo Carreno Busta doesn’t enjoy the best reputation with the betting companies, doesn’t even appear among the tournament favourites.
In his round of 16 match against Sebastian Korda, the world number 19 is the underdog, the bookmakers list odds around 2.70. So is the current form not right at all?
The 30-year-old has actually already put a first exclamation mark on his form by beating shooting star Holger Rune straight up 6-3, 7-5. After all, Rune was in the quarter-finals of the French Open and even beat Stefanos Tsitsipas there.
He fended off all the break points against him but only used one himself, it was a classic match with both players winning their service games and a slip up once.
At least the Spaniard seems to have recovered from his embarrassment in Paris, where he was defeated by Gilles Simon in round 1. Since the final in Barcelona at the end of April, where he beat a number of world stars, he has clearly lost ground.
At his premiere in Halle, he wants to beat the next youngster after Rune. It was less than half a year ago that his and Sebastian Korda’s paths crossed for the first time.
The Australian Open brought this duel in the 3rd round. An intense exchange of strokes ended with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 for Carreno Busta, so Korda flashed what he is made of.
The US American did the same in his 1st round match in Halle. He won 6-2, 6-3 against Cristian Garin, you don’t beat this opponent so clearly every day. He won 81% of his points on his first serve and fended off all three break opportunities.
Although his French Open did not quite go as planned, losing in the 3rd round to Carlos Alcaraz is still a much better result than Pablo Carreno Busta.
The consistency that Korda himself would like to have, he does not quite bring to the court yet. Sometimes he beats the absolute top stars, then he fails again against no names. Examples? A win against Alcaraz was followed by a loss against Carlos Taberner!
In contrast to Carreno Busta, Korda already knows the Halle court. A year ago, he was only eliminated in the quarter-finals after a tough fight against the eventual winner Ugo Humbert.
My Carreno Busta Korda tip
So the bookies have agreed that they see Sebastian Korda as the stronger player.
Both have been convincing in their 1st rounds, but Korda has left the slightly stronger impression for me. I trust the youngster a bit more on grass, also based on the serve and the performance of Paris. But since Carreno Busta can fight, my recommendation is of course also based on that.
My tip therefore: Korda wins at over 21.5 games!
