Croatia Open 2022: Jannik Sinner vs. Franco Agamenone Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Croatia Open as Jannik Sinner takes on Franco Agamenone in the semifinal on Saturday, July 30th, 2022.

Jannik Sinner will need to overcome his compatriot Franco Agamenone to reach his first clay-court final of the season. The second seed has moved on unscathed at the Croatia Open, but cannot afford to lift his foot off the gas pedal just yet. Who will prevail?

Jannik Sinner is yet to lift an ATP title this season. In fact, he has yet to reach a final this season. Last year he racked up four trophies and broke inside the world’s top 10. But nevertheless, this has been a very decent first half of the season for Sinner, whom despite not winning any silver, has broken new barriers at Grand Slam level. Sinner has reached the second week in all three slams he has competed in so far in 2022, including the quarterfinal runs at the Australian Open and Wimbledon respectively. He was the only man to take Novak Djokovic to five sets at SW19. Sinner has not let the disappointment of that defeat weigh over his shoulders though. He has played some good tennis at the Croatia Open, overcoming difficult tests in the form of Jaume Munar and Roberto Carballes Baena to reach the last four.

Franco Agamenone, meanwhile, is into his first ATP semifinal of his career at the Croatia Open. The 29-year-old normally plays most of his tennis on the lower rungs of the ATP. Prior to this week, he had zero wins at tour level, but has since navigated his way from the qualifying rounds to upsetting some of the ATP’s most accomplished clay courters. His victory over the high-flying Sebastian Baez was the most eye-catching of the lot. Can he score his biggest win of his career on Saturday?

Jannik Sinner and Franco Agamenone have not clashed on the ATP Tour. By dint of ranking, Sinner enters this match as the colossal favorite. Agamenone has relished playing the underdog card and has got some serious game in his arsenal to compete at the highest level. But despite his career breakthrough week at the Croatia Open, Sinner is just not cut from same cloth as any challenger he has played this week.