Astana Open 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Hubert Hurkacz Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Astana Open as Hubert Hurkacz takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal on Friday, October 7th, 2022.

Hubert Hurkacz could give his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending championships a major boost in the quarterfinals of the Astana Open. But the big-serving Pole faces a daunting task against an in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas whose game is clicking again. Who will prevail in this mouthwatering tie?

Hubert Hurkacz needs points to move up the rankings in the ATP Race to Turin. The number seven seed started his Astana Open campaign with a comfortable win over Francisco Cerundolo, beating him 6-2 7-6. And against Alexander Bublikin the second round, he was in similar rich vein of form, dismissing the Kazakhstani 6-4 6-4. Hurkacz dropped serve just once and was engaged in a series of entertaining rallies behind the baseline as both players went for the kill. The decisive stat is perhaps the break point conversion with Hurkacz taking three from 13 chances.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, meanwhile, ended the fairytale run of Italian qualifier Luca Nardi in straight sets at the Astana Open. The match, however, was not as straightforward as the Greek needed a pair of tiebreaks to defeat the spirited Nardi. His ability to come up big on his second serve proved decisive particularly since the match did not feature any service breaks. Tsitsipas is now one win away from equaling Alcaraz’s 52 victories in 2022 – the most by an ATP player this year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head over Hubert Hurkacz7-2. Since their first meeting back in 2018 at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Tsitsipas set the tone in this lopsided rivalry down the years. However, matches between the pair have been extremely close. Their last four meetings have each gone the distance including their Miami quarterfinal bout last season which Hurkacz won en route to his first Masters title. Both players are striking the ball accurately and with a lot of purchase at this week’s Astana Open. I’ll give a slight edge to Tsitsipas who seems to have been far less profligate this week.