TennisSection previews the 2021 Geneva Open as Grigor Dimitrov (4) meets Ilya Ivashka (Q) in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, May 19th, 2021.
Will Ilya Ivashka continue to perform at a very high level on the ATP Tour in 2021 as he looks to beat Dimitrov? Will Grigor Dimitrov get some positive performances under his belt before the French Open at the end of the month? Both players can win this match if they are on top of their game, but only one will make their way to the Quarter-finals of the 2021 Geneva Open. Who will it be?
Ilya Ivashka beat the very experienced clay courter, Fernando Verdasco, in straight sets on Tuesday 7-6/6-4. Ivashka has been in great form recently, most notably taking a set off of Rafael Nadal in his first match in Barcelona last month, and then the next week beating Alexander Zverev in Munich. Ilya Ivashka has a lot of raw power which takes his opponents off guard as they do not expect that from a qualifier. Ivashka knows that he still has to put on consistent performances if he wants to rise in the rankings and get himself in positions where he does not have to go through qualifying anymore, and if he continues to perform and cause upsets, potentially even against Grigor Dimitrov, I am sure he will put himself in a solid position to succeed.
Grigor Dimitrov has been in bad form on the clay this season, going 2-3 in all of the tournaments he has played in, losing his last 2 matches. Last week in Rome, Grigor Dimitrov lost in the first round to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets and he just never got himself into the match. Dimitrov just turned 30 years old a few days ago, and I am very sure he will want to show that even at his age he can perform and keep up with the young guns. However, with his inconsistent play, it is very hard to be confident in the Bulgarian when betting as you never know whether he will be at his best or at his worst. Dimitrov will know that Ilya Ivashka will be a tough challenge, and I wonder how he will be working to prevent the upset.
Grigor Dimitrov and Ilya Ivashka have never met before, with this being their first meeting on the ATP Tour. This is definitely going to be an extremely tight match between two great movers on clay. Ilya Ivashka will know that he can get some solid games under his belt because he already got a good win here in Geneva, however, I think that the different groundstrokes which Dimitrov can come up with will not give Ivashka much rhythm on his return. I expect this to be a 3 set match as it is never straight forward with the Bulgarian, but Dimitrov should win in the end.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov in 3 Sets.
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