Eastbourne 2022: Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Bublik preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Rothesay International
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Bublik.
Date: 23 June 2022.
Tournament: Rothesay International Eastbourne 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: €697,405.
Match timing: Not before 12:30 pm local time, 7:30 am ET and 5 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Bublik preview
World No. 14 Taylor Fritz will square off against Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Rothesay International on Thursday.
With back-to-back first-round losses at the Libema Open and the Cinch Championships, Fritz's grass season got off to a poor start. He performed well in doubles at the latter tournament, making it to the semifinals alongside Tommy Paul.
Fritz received a first-round bye at Eastbourne and took on qualifier Thiago Monteiro in the second round. Both players held their serve for much of the opening set but the American secured a break of serve right at the end to nab the set.
Fritz managed to generate only a solitary break point in the second set, but made the most of it to go 4-2 up. After another couple of games, he proceeded to serve out the match for a 7-5, 6-3 win.
Ten minutes after his 7:5 6:3 win over Thiago Monteiro, Taylor Fritz is back on practice courts working on his serve. https://t.co/exIBfEWUgW
Alexander Bublik kicked off his campaign in Eastbourne with a 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-0 comeback win over Frances Tiafoe in the first round. He was up against qualifier John Millman in the second round.
Bublik started the match by breaking his opponent's serve in the very first game of the match. He then had to save three break points on his own serve in the next game, but managed to hold on for a 2-0 lead. The 25-year-old held on to this lead until the end of the set to win it.
Bublik was even more dominant in the second set, winning five games in a row to go 5-1 up. Millman managed a hold of serve to make it 5-2, but the Kazakh served it out in the next game to win the match 6-4, 6-2.
Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Bublik head-to-head
The two have faced off thrice before, with Bublik holding a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record against Fritz. He won their most recent encounter at the 2021 Miami Open in three sets.
Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Bublik odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Bublik prediction
Both players put up an impressive serving performance in their respective second-round matches. While Fritz hit 12 aces and won 88% of his first-serve points, Bublik hammered 15 aces and won a whopping 93% of points on his first serve.
If the duo replicate this display in the next round, whoever has a minor slip-up while serving could be on the backfoot for the rest of the match. Fritz is much more steady when it comes to hitting his groundstrokes, which could also make a difference.
However, Bublik displayed some razor-sharp focus in his second-round win over Millman. He has won more matches on grass this year than the American as well. His only previous losses on the surface came against Grand Slam champions Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.
Bublik has also shown better adaptability and versatility in his tactics compared to Fritz, which could swing the match in his favor. Having won all three of his previous clashes against the American, he certainly knows how to handle his game. Bublik is most likely to further extend his winning record against Fritz in this encounter.
Pick: Alexander Bublik to win in three sets.