United Cup 2023: Pablo Carreno Busta vs Dan Evans Tennis Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 United Cup as Pablo Carreno Busta takes on Dan Evans in the group stages on Sunday, January 1, 2023.

Will Pablo Carreno Busta get Spain’s United Cup campaign back on track? After losing their opening two matches, there will be no margin for error if they intend to win this tie. But Dan Evans will prove to be a formidable competitor. Who will prevail?

Pablo Carreno Busta played exceptionally well on hardcourts last year winning the biggest title of his career at the Canadian Masters. Carreno Busta will be tasked to get Spain’s United Cup campaign back on track after a rather disappointing and tepid showing on the opening day of the United Cup. Spain’s Rafael Nadal was beaten by Cameron Norrie and Parrizas-Diaz also lost the women’s singles match meaning that Spain go into their second round of matches without a win and one contest away from losing the tie. Will Busta upend Dan Evans again?

Elsewhere, Great Britain’s Dan Evans had a disappointing showing as he lost his singles rubber against Australia’s Jason Kubler. It is the second time that Evans has lost to the Aussie after also losing to him at the Wimbledon Championships first round in 2022. That defeat did not impact the overall result of the tie as Great Britain beat Australia 3-2.

Pablo Carreno Busta leads Dan Evans 1-0 in their head-to-head. That meeting incidentally took place at the Canadian Masters last year in a classic semifinal which Carreno Busta won in three sets. Evans will be keen to atone for that defeat and potentially seal Great Britain’s win in the tie. But that is easier said than done even with Carreno Busta not getting any matches at the start of this campaign. He will be too good for Dan Evans in baseline exchanges. The Spaniard is a natural and aggressive all-court player who can hit the shots that he wants to at the time that he wants to. He is also extremely versatile and a very disciplined baseliner. Evans might hit a stumbling block here.