Gijon Open 2022: Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Sebastian Korda Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Gijon Open as Sebastian Korda takes on Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round on Thursday, October 13th, 2022.

Sebastian Korda will attempt to sink a second Spaniard in as many days at the Gijon Open. But Roberto Bautista Agut is no slouch and will be determined to live up to his high seed status on home territory. Who will reach the quarterfinals?

Sebastian Korda hardly looked in a spot of bother as he swatted aside Jaume Munar in his opening round at the Gijon Open. Korda won 6-4 6-1, converting four out of his nine break points and winning 88% first-serve points. The tall American did not face a single break point on his serve as he picked up his fourth win of the season on an indoor hard court. Korda is aiming to close out the season on a high note after a subpar 2022 season. Having dropped to No. 47 in the rankings, he cannot afford to lose his top 50 status this week. Can he upstage the number three seed Roberto Bautista Agut?

Roberto Bautista Agut, for his part, got a bye in the first round and arrives at the Gijon Open on the back of a straight sets thrashing against Daniil Medvedev in Astana. Bautista Agutmanaged to win two games against the hard-hitting Russian as he suffered his first defeat in five matches. I wouldn’t be too quick to judge him based on that match. Medvedev was simply on a different level in Kazakhstan bar the injury which saw him retire in his semifinals.

Sebastian Korda leads Roberto Bautista Agut 1-0 in their head-to-head. Korda won that meeting on the lawns of Halle in 2021 in straight sets. Since his shock first-round defeat at the hands of J.J. Wolf at the US Open, Bautista Agut rediscovered that winning touch at the Davis Cup as he helped Spain qualify for the quarterfinals. Victory over Auger-Aliassime in Astana was also massive for his confidence. It is a tough call, but if Kordacontinues to serve lights out as he did in his opening match at the Gijon Open, the Spaniard’s patience might run out.