Astana Open 2022: Marin Cilic vs Oscar Otte preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (9) Marin Cilic vs Oscar Otte
Tournament: Astana Open.
Date: October 5, 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 32).
Venue: Astana, Kazakhstan.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $1,900,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | Australia - beIN Sports.
Marin Cilic vs Oscar Otte preview
Ninth seed Marin Cilic will face Oscar Otte in the first round of the Astana Open on Wednesday.
The Croat has produced some impressive performances so far this season, most notably reaching the semifinals of the French Open. He made it to the last 16 of the US Open but lost a grueling five-set encounter against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Cilic then competed at the Tel Aviv Open and reached the final after beating Dominic Thiem and Constant Lestienne. He faced Novak Djokovic in the final and lost 6-3, 6-4.
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The Croat was initially unseeded at the Astana Open but became a seeded player following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal from the event.
Oscar Otte had a decent grass-court season, reaching the semifinals of the Halle Open and the BOSS Open, both of which were held in his native Germany. He also made it to the third round of Wimbledon before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
Otte suffered opening-round exits at the US Open and the Moselle Open while also losing his Davis Cup matches against Adrian Mannarino and David Goffin.
The German then competed in the Sofia Open as the eighth seed and reached the second round before losing to Kamil Majchrzak.
Marin Cilic vs Oscar Otte head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players is 0-0 as they will lock horns for the first time.
Marin Cilic vs Oscar Otte odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Marin Cilic vs Oscar Otte prediction
Cilic will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win. The 34-year-old had a good run in Tel Aviv last week and will look to do well in Astana as well.
Cilic isn't one to engage in too many long rallies and looks to finish points off quickly. The Croat's serve is a key weapon and fetches him a lot of free points. In fact, both players rely on their serve to allow them to win points.
The German will have to be at his very best if he is to come out on top.
If Cilic continues to keep up his serving stats and keep his unforced error count low, he should be able to get over the finish line against Otte and reach the round of 16.
Pick: Cilic to win in straight sets.