(Tennis news) In the second round, Daniil Medvedev faced Laslo Djere after defeating Marcos Giron in the opening round. Thanks to an early break that put him in the lead, the Russian easily won the first set. Despite falling behind 3-0 in the second set, Medvedev fought back to equalise the score and eventually force a tie-break. He had a 4-1 lead but lost when Djere turned the tables on him to win the set.

In the decisive set, Daniil Medvedev had a 3-0 lead, but Laslo Djere was able to tie the match in the seventh game by regaining serve. The Russian then quickly got a second service break to go up 5-3 before concluding the match in the ensuing game to win 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3.

After defeating Andrea Vavassori in straight sets, Bautista Agut advanced to the second round and met Brandon Nakashima. For virtually the entire opening set, the two were evenly matched. The Spaniard broke his opponent’s serve in the set’s 12th game to win it, ending what appeared to be a tie-break.

Throughout much of the second set, the two players maintained a good level of serve stability. In the 11th game, Nakashima got a break, but Bautista Agut broke back to force a tie-break, making it impossible for Nakashima to finish the set. A 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory for the Spaniard gave him the victory.

Head-to-Head

In the head-to-head matchup, Bautista Agut has a 4-2 advantage over Medvedev. The latter triumphed in straight sets in their most recent meeting at the 2022 Astana Open.

Predictions

Daniil Medvedev struggled a bit in his victory over Djere. He ought to have won the match in two sets and surrendered the lead early in the third set before rapidly regaining it. In Halle, the Russian campaign might have been successful had it faced more opposition.

On the other hand, Bautista Agut defeated Nakashima with a fairly strong performance. For the first time since the Australian Open earlier this year, he has now won two straight games. This might be his season’s much-needed turning point.

The counterpunching style of tennis played by Bautista Agut has previously given Medvedev quite a pain. They split their two meetings equally when they played on grass last year as well. The Russian won in Halle but fell to the Spaniard the following week in Mallorca.

Although Medvedev has been the player in better shape this year, he has so far appeared a little off in Halle. The former World No. 1 should be able to defeat the Spaniard this time around, who has been fairly inconsistent over the previous few months. Bautista Agut has historically been his kryptonite.Daniil Medvedev to win 3 sets (2-1)

Also read: Jannick Sinner set to play Lorenzo Sonego at the Halle Open