Adelaide International: Davidovich Fokina vs Bautista Agut Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 Adelaide International 2 as Alejandro Davidovich Fokina takes on Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarterfinal on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is into the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International 2 and not many people expected it. The Spaniard will now battle compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in what will be a close match on paper. Who will prevail?

This has been some start to the season by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who looks energized and mentally ready for a big year. His 2023 Adelaide International 2 campaign began with a fine win over Next Gen Finals champion Brandon Nakashima. Not many people gave him a chance to excel on this surface at this early stage of the year, but he has built on that win and took down Aussie workhorse John Millman in straight sets to get to this stage. But competition will only get harder from this moment on, starting with a quarterfinal clash against fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

Roberto Bautista Agut, meanwhile, ended the fairytale run of Robin Haase with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 win in precisely two hours. Bautista Agut hammered 11 aces and won 73% first-serve points. On paper, victory seemed like a stroll, but he was made to earn it by the 35-year-old lucky loser who shocked Benjamin Bonzi just 24 hours earlier at the Adelaide International 2.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Roberto Bautista Agut are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head. Bautista Agut thumped his countryman at the Qatar Open last year, allowing him a meager two games in the match. Davidovich Fokina will need to play with controlled aggression because the veteran Agut is such a world-class defender who can retrieve as many balls back and force Davidovich Fokina to play one extra shot. This will be tight though, probably in the same mold as their meeting in Rotterdam in 2021 which was won by Davidovich Fokina. The Moneyline price for Davidovich Fokkina could be worth taking.