China Open 2024: Grigor Dimitrov vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (5) Grigor Dimitrov vs (Q) Roberto Bautista Agut
Date: September 27, 2024
Tournament: China Open 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $3,720,165
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Grigor Dimitrov vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview
Fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov will face qualifier Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round of the China Open 2024.
Dimitrov's resurgence, which started towards the end of last season, has continued this year. He captured his first title in over six years at the Brisbane International in January. He reached another two finals over the next couple of months, including one at the Miami Open.
Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time in his career this year, the only Major where he hadn't done so. He also advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon and made the last eight at the US Open.
Following his exit from the season's final Major, Dimitrov participated in an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic. He was also part of Team Europe at the Laver Cup and won his only singles tie against Alejandro Tabilo in two tight sets, and won the title as well.
Bautista Agut's current ranking meant he had to first compete in the qualifying rounds of the China Open. He rallied from a set down to beat Billy Harris 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3, and then took on Roman Safiullin for a spot in the main draw. The Spaniard was pushed to three sets again and prevailed with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win.
Grigor Dimitrov vs Roberto Bautista Agut head-to-head
Dimitrov leads Bautista Agut 4-1 in the head-to-head. The Bulgarian won their most recent encounter at the Cincinnati Open 2021 in straight sets.
Grigor Dimitrov vs Roberto Bautista Agut odds
(Odds will be added once they're available)
Grigor Dimitrov vs Roberto Bautista Agut prediction
Bautista Agut's road to the main draw was quite tough but he persevered to make the cut. He has an 18-17 record in main draw matches this season. Dimitrov, meanwhile, has tallied a 38-14 record for the year.
Dimitrov lost his very first match against Bautista Agut in straight sets. Coincidentally, that encounter took place in Beijing over a decade ago. The Bulgarian has remained unbeaten against his opponent since then and has won his last two matches against him in straight sets.
The two also contested another match in Beijing in 2017, an exciting three-set duel that went Dimitrov's way. He's also a former finalist at the venue and reached the summit clash in 2016.
Bautista Agut's counterpunching has failed to get the better of Dimitrov's finesse on the court for quite some time now. Given where they stand this year in terms of their results, the Bulgarian is likely to extend his winning record in this rivalry.
Pick: Grigor Dimitrov to win in straight sets.