Adelaide International 2023: Marcos Giron vs Alexei Popyrin Tennis Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 Adelaide International as Marcos Giron takes on Alexei Popyrin in the second round on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

A first quarterfinal of 2023 awaits one of Marcos Giron or Alexei Popyrin at the Adelaide International. Will the Australian qualifier back up his shock win over Auger-Aliassime? or will Giron put the brakes on Popyrin’s run?

Marcos Giron was in action on day one of the Adelaide International winning a marathon three-setter against French veteran Richard Gasquet. At this early stage of the season, it has to be the match of the week without. It was brutal, with plenty of lung busting rallies and some fantastic shotmaking. It could easily have gone either way, but credit to the American who came up with some quality and decisive shots towards the end to earn a service break. His next test will come in the form of Alexei Popyrin.

Alexei Popyrin, meanwhile, has put in the hard yards this week as he looks to return to the world’s Top 100. The Aussie came through qualifying and scored the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, knocking off the number two seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets. It was undoubtedly one of the best results of his short career and one that will give him bags of confidence to go deep in the draw at the Adelaide International.

Marcos Giron leads Alexei Popyrin 1-0 in their head-to-head, winning a qualifying match at the Canada Masters last year. Popyrin is chasing his first Tour-level quarterfinal in almost two years – the last of which came in Singapore when he won his first ATP title. The odds are almost even here, but Popyrin is tough to beat on home turf. He has had his fair share of stonking wins Down Under, particularly at the Australian Open. And following his latest Top 10 scalp, his confidence has rocketed to the roof. Expect the qualifier to hold the edge in a tight matchup.