Citi Open 2024 final: Sebastian Korda vs Flavio Cobolli preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Sebastian Korda vs (10) Flavio Cobolli
Date: August 4, 2024
Tournament: Mubadala Citi DC Open
Round: Finals
Venue: Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, Washington DC
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $368,585
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel (USA) | TSN (Canada) | Sky Sports (UK)
Sebastian Korda vs Flavio Cobolli preview
Fourth seed Sebastian Korda will take on tenth seed Flavio Cobolli in the final of the Citi Open. Victory for the American will give him his second career title while the Italian will win his very first if he comes out on top.
Korda has won 26 out of 42 matches so far in 2024, having previously reached the Libema Open final and the semifinals at the cinch Championships. The American entered the ATP 500 tournament in Washington at the back of a disastrous opening-round exit at Wimbledon.
Korda started the Citi Open strongly with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cristian Garin before triumphing over Thanasi Kokkinakis after the Aussie retired during their fixture's third set.
The 24-year-old then registered a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jordan Thompson to set up a semifinal against fifth-seeded compatriot Frances Tiafoe. He broke once in each set and this was enough to give him a 6-4, 6-4 win and a place in his maiden ATP 500 final.
Flavio Cobolli has won 25 out of 44 matches so far in the 2024 season, having previously reached the semifinals of the Geneva Open and three ATP 250 quarterfinals.
The Italian started the Citi Open with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win before producing a stellar comeback to eliminate eighth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(7) and reach the quarterfinals. Here, he faced 15th seed Alex Michelsen and had to grind out a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(2) to set up a semifinal encounter against second seed Ben Shelton.
Shelton got off to a fine start, as he won the opening set 6-4. However, Cobolli bounced back in the second set and won it after breaking serve in the very last game, thus forcing the match into a decider. An early break of serve turned out to be decisive as the Italian registered a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win to reach his maiden ATP final.
Sebastian Korda vs Flavio Cobolli head-to-head
Korda leads 1-0 in the head-to-head between the two, having beaten Cobolli 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 in the second round of this season's Italian Open.
Sebastian Korda vs Flavio Cobolli odds
Odds sourced from BETMGM.
Sebastian Korda vs Flavio Cobolli predicton
Korda will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win considering his relatively better run of form and the home support. That said, Cobolli should not be written as he will be high on morale after beating someone of Ben Shelton's quality on an American hard-court.
Korda has been very solid on his first serve so far in Washington, having won 88 out of 111 points (79.3%) while also serving 41 aces. The 24-year-old will be eager to gain many more free points and fully dominate his service games. Korda is a powerful striker of the ball and will aim to be maintain this intensity throughout the match.
Cobolli, like the American, has also served 41 aces throughout the Citi Open so far . However, he has also produed 34 double-faults and cannot afford too many of those against Korda.
The Italian will look to be aggressive from the start and his forehand will have to play a major role. His on-court pace and agility will also be needed in order to withstand the American's onslaught.
While Cobolli has been in pretty good form lately, the crowd support and the lesser possibility of being broken due to his opponent's susceptibility to double faults should see Sebastian Korda win his second ATP 500 title.
Pick: Korda to win in straight sets.