We've got three first-round picks from Kitzbuhel today, with partially cloudy skies and a very real chance of rain hanging over the Austrian clay all day. A few interesting matchups here, including a couple of picks going against the H2H grain. Let's get into it.
Generali Open Kitzbuhel Predictions
Vit Kopriva vs Ignacio Buse
Head-to-head: Kopriva 3-1 Buse
Kopriva actually leads this one pretty comfortably, but three of those four meetings came on hard courts, and Buse is a very different player on clay. The Peruvian has been quietly building a strong clay season and at world number 33 he's the higher-ranked player for a reason. Kopriva is a solid all-court player but clay isn't where he does his best work and Buse on this surface at this altitude is a tough ask.
Prediction: Buse in 3
Sebastian Baez vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head-to-head: Baez 0-3 Kecmanovic
Baez has never beaten Kecmanovic, which is a strange stat when you consider how good Baez is on clay specifically. Kecmanovic is a capable player but he's not a clay specialist, and Kitzbuhel is exactly the kind of slow, high-altitude surface where Baez's heavy topspin and grinding baseline game can suffocate opponents. I think this is the match where that H2H finally flips, and the conditions suit Baez much more than they suit Kecmanovic, all things considered.
Prediction: Baez in 3
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Alexander Shevchenko
Head-to-head: Struff 2-0 Shevchenko
Struff leads the H2H and is the higher seed, but he's been inconsistent for most of 2025 and Shevchenko has quietly climbed back into the top 100, which is no small feat on the ATP tour, with some decent results on the slower surfaces. Struff's big serve and flat ball-striking can be neutralized on this type of clay and Shevchenko is the better mover of the two. That said, the conditions with potential rain interruptions could make this messy, and that tends to hurt the rhythm-dependent power hitter more than the grinder. Shevchenko gets this one.
Prediction: Shevchenko in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Irina R. Hipolito/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire