PREVIEW: 2022 ATP Tour – Estoril Open selected Ro32 matches

2022 ATP Tour
ATP 250 Series
Estoril Open
Clube de Tenis do Estoril, Cascais, Portugal (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 32 and 16 Matches- 26th-27th April

Round of 32 Match- 26th April

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (32/10) vs Seb Korda (8) (2/9)

Predominately a doubles specialist, Pierre-Hugues Herbert has nonetheless carved out a pretty decent singles career for himself. The four-time ATP finalist reached the final of last year’s Open 13, pushing Danil Medvedev to three sets in a bruising encounter.

It was actually an impressive overall season for Herbert, who won the French Open and ATP Finals doubles titles alongside long-time partner Nicolas Mahut. But the majority of his singles success- if not all of it- has come on faster surfaces.

He has won two French Open doubles titles (in 2018 and 2021). He failed to make it through the qualifying stages at Barcelona. But he has come through unscathed in Estoril this week, beating Alexei Popyrin and Fernando Verdasco in a challenging qualifying draw.

Herbert will have gained some confidence from those victories and won’t feel overawed going into this match.

8th seed Seb Korda’s clay-court season has been a microcosm of his season as a whole. He beat the red-hot Carlos Alcaraz-Garfia in three titanic sets in Monte-Carlo.

But the gangly American failed to build on that result, losing to compatriot Taylor Fritz in the next round. He then endured a shocking defeat in Barcelona, losing in emphatic fashion to the unfancied Carlos Taberner in his opening match.

His serving stats were atrocious in that match: he lost less than 50% of his points on both his first and second serve. Those are disastrous stats for someone whose game hinges on a dominant delivery. But it tracks with what has been an erratic campaign for the American. Korda had his breakthrough on clay, making it to the 4th round of the 2020 French Open as a virtual unknown.

He also won his maiden title on clay, claiming last year’s Emilia-Romagna Open. When he’s at his best, Korda is a surprisingly nimble mover on this surface. But he will need to quickly move past that shocking Barcelona performance.

The Verdict: Korda to win in three at 26/10- Korda has won their only previous encounter, easily dispatching of the Frenchman in last year’s Lyon Open. He has far more power than Herbert on both wings. But he could still be feeling the effects of that Taberner effect.

Herbert can be a frustrating opponent, giving power hitters like Korda little to work with. Perhaps he could leak a set off Korda. But I fully expect the American to overpower the Frenchman over the distance.

Round of 16 Match- 27th April
Frances Tiafoe (5) (8/11) vs Nuno Borges (11/10)

This could prove a fascinating early clash in this year’s event. Frances Tiafoe has proven to be typically infuriating this season, with just one quarterfinal showing in seven 2022 appearances.

He actually entered his opening encounter against Dusan Lajovic under a slight illness cloud. And it looked that way in the early stages, with Lajovic storming to a one-set lead. In fact, Tiafoe had to save two break points to avoid going down 3-0 in the 2nd. But a trip to the physio couldn’t have come at a better time for the American, who rallied to win the last eight games of the match.

Tiafoe has some history in this event, reaching his 2nd ATP Tour final here in 2018. But can the mercurial American finally find some consistency in his power-based game?

Nuno Borges is yet to establish himself on the ATP Tour. But he has been one of the most impressive players on the Challenger circuit this season. He lost in a final in May and is fresh off a tournament victory in Barletta, Italy. Both of those finals came on clay (a surface which the 25-year-old Portuguese has thrived on). In fact, he has reached seven lower-tier clay-court finals over the past 14 months. Borges took a different route than most in his journey as a professional tennis player. He played college tennis at the Mississippi State University between 2015 and 2019.

He only made his full ATP Tour debut in this event last year (he defeated Jordan Thompson in his first ATP match). He may have only gained a wildcard entry this week due to his nationality, but Borges is in form on this surface and could be a dangerous dark horse opponent.

The Verdict: Borges to win at 11/10 – I just think that Borges could be a difficult opponent this week. He is a true clay-court aficionado who is playing in front of his home crowd.

Tiafoe also has a tendency to blow hot and cold. I wouldn’t put too much stock in his performance against Lajovic. He just disappoints too consistently. This has upset win written all over it.