Adelaide International 2023: Sebastian Korda vs Roberto Bautista Agut Tennis Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 Adelaide International as Sebastian Korda takes on Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round on Thursday, January 5, 2023.

Both Sebastian Korda and Roberto Bautista Agut scored terrific wins on Tuesday, but only one of them will earn the right to reach the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International. Who will come out on top?

Sebastian Korda scored a very good win over Andy Murray in his opening match at the Adelaide International. Murray, of course, is in the twilight of his career while Korda is the present and probably the future of men’s tennis. The American was so unlucky that a foot injury hindered his progress in the first half of last season, missing a few ATP events and the Wimbledon Championships. But he had a very productive second half of the campaign reaching successive Tour-level finals on indoor hard courts and finishing inside the Top 40.

Roberto Bautista Agut, for his part, beat Andrey Rublev in three pulsating sets to reach the second round. The Spaniard was the overwhelming underdog going into the match at the Adelaide International but surprisingly matched his Russian opponent in the power department and was able to put Rublev in uncomfortable positions in the second and third sets. Rublev was a little bit tense and nervy towards the end of the match and was broken mid-way through the third set. Bautista Agut will be looking to avenge his loss to Sebastian Korda at the Gijon Open last autumn.

Sebastian Korda leads Roberto Bautista Agut 2-0 on the ATP Tour, beating him in Halle and the Gijon Open. The American will be in better shape to challenge the Spaniard, with Rublev perhaps a bit jittery and complacent on Tuesday. Korda is also past his injury troubles and possesses the athletic ability to go toe-to-toe with Bautista Agut in baseline, and I reckon he does hold a slight advantage going into their second-round match at the Adelaide International.