A couple of qualifying finals in Halle to get through today, with two players trying to earn their spots in the main draw on grass. Let's get into it.
Terra Wortmann Open Predictions
Lorenzo Sonego vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Head-to-head: Sonego 3-1 Basilashvili
Sonego leads this one pretty comfortably on paper, and the H2H backs that up. Three wins from four, and Basilashvili at 118 in the world isn't the player he was a few years ago when he was cracking top-ten results. The Georgian has had a rough few seasons and grass has never really been where he does his best work anyway.
That said, Sonego on grass in a qualifying match is not exactly a guaranteed thing, and he can be streaky. The H2H gives me confidence here, but I feel like this goes the distance before Sonego closes it out.
Prediction: Sonego in 3
Martin Landaluce vs Tom Gentzsch
Head-to-head: First meeting
Landaluce is ranked 58 in the world and really shouldn't be in qualifying at all, so facing a 229-ranked opponent in the final round is about as favorable a situation as you can ask for. Gentzsch is a German wildcard who's had a solid run to get here, but the ranking gap is enormous and Landaluce has the game to handle grass. Hard to see this being competitive at all on paper, though these qualifying finals on grass can produce weird results when one player has nothing to lose.
Landaluce gets through in three, all things considered.
Prediction: Landaluce in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Marti Segura Ramoneda/ZUMA Press Wire