Croatia Open 2021: Men’s Singles Draw Preview, Analysis and Predictions for Umag 2021
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Albert Ramos Vinolas and Dusan Lajovic
The ATP Croatia Open is the oldest tennis tournament of Croatia being played since 1990 on the red soil courts. The Croatia Open 2021 brings the tournament back on the ATP tour as the 2020 season saw no play being held due to the Pandemic. The Centre Court stadium is named after former Croatian and Hall of Famer Goran Ivanisevic.
Tournament Details:
- Tournament: ATP Croatia Open 2021
- Date: July 19-25, 2021
- Number of Entrants: 28 (Singles), 16 (Doubles)
- Venue: Umag, Croatia
- Surface: Clay Court
- Prize Money: $568,245
- Defending champion: Dusan Lajovic (2019)
Top Seeds at Croatia Open 2021
- Albert Ramos Vinolas
- Dusan Lajovic
- Filip Krajinovic
- Richard Gasquet
- Aljaz Bedene
- Jaume Munar
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Gianluca Mager
Men’s Singles Draw Analysis and Prediction
Top Half
Top-seeded Albert Ramos Vinolas receives a bye in the first round as he is seeded 1st. He should expect local lad and wildcard entrant Duje Ajdukovic in the 2nd round who is set to open against a qualifier. 6th seeded Jaume Munar will be up against Italian Stefano Travaglia in a tricky 1st round clash and the winner is certain to meet Vinolas in the quarter-final.
3rd seeded and one of the title favourites, Filip Krajinovic gets a bye in the first round and is expected to play Radu Albot in the 2nd round. 7th seeded Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz can meet Salvatore Caruso in the 2nd round as both seem to be the favourites for their 1st round clashes.
First Semi-Final Prediction: Albert Ramos Vinolas vs Filip Krajinovic
Bottom Half
5th seeded Aljaz Bedene will be up against Italian Marco Cecchinato in the 1st round and looks certain to proceed ahead defeating the Italian. 4th seeded Richard Gasquet gets a bye in the first round and is expected to play Jiri Vesely in the 2nd round. Bedene looks certain to move till the semis as he is presented a rather easy path to the last-4.
2nd seeded and defending champion, Dusan Lajovic gets a bye in the first round and will open his campaign most likely against Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the 2nd round. 8th seeded Gianluca Mager faces a tough opener in the form of Spaniard Pedro Martinez, the winner of the clash looks certain to win the 2nd round as well and make it to the quarter-final.
Second Semi-Final Prediction: Dusan Lajovic vs Aljaz Bedene
Semi-Finals
Albert Ramos Vinolas and Filip Krajinovic will be one of the exciting clashes of the tournament as both of them are good players on Clay. Both the players come from the Hamburg Open 2021 where Ramos lost in the 2nd round while Filip made it till the finals but had to settle for the runner-up trophy losing the final in straight-sets. But it does look that Filip is certain to reach yet another final.
In a repeat of the 2019 Croatian Open quarter-finals, Dusan Lajovic and Aljaz Bedene will clash once again and with the stakes higher this time, it is expected to be yet another fierce battle between the two. While Bedene returns to Clay for the first time since the 2021 French Open, Lajovic comes from a quarter-final defeat at the Hamburg Open losing to eventual champion Pablo Carreno Busta.
Croatia Open Finals Prediction: Filip Krajinovic vs Dusan Lajovic
Finals:
In what can be an all-Croatian affair in the finals of the Croatia Open 2021, the two Croatians will be eyeing a title in front of their home crowd. While Lajovic is the defending champion of the tournament, it seems that Krajinovic will be the one lifting the title this year as he has been in great form and comes from a runner-up finish at the Hamburg Open.
Champion: Filip Krajinovic
Also Read: Los Cabos 2021: Men’s Singles Draw Preview, Analysis and Predictions for Mifel Open
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)