Firenze Open 2022: Alexander Bublik vs J.J. Wolf preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Alexander Bublik vs J.J. Wolf.
Date: October 12, 2022.
Tournament: Firenze Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Firenze, Italy.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $612,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Alexander Bublik vs J.J. Wolf preview
Seventh seed Alexander Bublik will face off against World No. 75 J.J. Wolf in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Firenze Open on Friday.
Bublik defeated 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Cristian Garin in straight sets to set up a second-round date with Corentin Moutet. The two remained solid on serve for most of the opening set.
With the Frenchman serving to stay in the set at 6-5, Bublik went 40-0 up on his opponent's serve and clinched the opener on his first set point. The second set played out in a similar manner. Both were quite stready on serve until the end. Moutet served to stay in the match at 5-4, and Bublik once again broke his serve to win the contest 7-5, 6-4.
Bublik has now reached his fifth quarterfinal of the season with a 3-1 record at this stage so far.
J.J. Wolf kicked off his campaign with a three-set win over Franceso Maestrelli in the first round. He was up against fellow American and fourth seed Maxime Cressy in the second round.
Wolf secured a break of serve in the sixth game to go 4-2 up and further consolidated his lead with a hold of serve in the next game. The opening set was over pretty soon after that, with the 23-year-old serving it out with ease.
Wolf snagged a break in the first game of the second set. He held on to the lead until the end quite comfortably as Cressy was unable to make any inroads on his serve. The young American won the match 6-3, 6-4 to reach his second quarterfinal of the year.
Alexander Bublik vs J.J. Wolf head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 at present.
Alexander Bublik vs J.J. Wolf odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Alexander Bublik vs J.J. Wolf prediction
Wolf played a great match to knock out Cressy in the second round. He finished with 19 winners and six unforced errors, while winning 17/21 net points. He didn't face a single break point and managed to counter his opponent's serve beautifully as well.
The American faces yet another player with a great serve in the form of Bublik. Wolf will feel quite confident about his chances given how he managed to deal with Cressy's serve earlier. Meanwhile, the Kazakh blasted 40 winners and committed just 11 unforced errors during his second-round win over Moutet.
If Bublik is able to channel that same form yet again, he's likely to cruise to an easy win. But he's known to be quite inconsistent at times and even a slight dip in form will give Wolf the opening he needs to make his move. The American has improved remarkably this year and is likely to put up a fight, but Bublik's experience should help him prevail in the end.
Pick: Alexander Bublik to win in three sets.