Holger Rune vs Sebastian Baez: 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel - Preview & Prediction
ATP
Holger Rune finally won again, and he'll try to do the same thing against Sebastian Baez in the second round of the 2023 Swiss Indoors.
Holger Rune hasn't had a very good time on the tennis courts in recent weeks, but he won in the first round of the Swiss Indoors, even though he was on the verge of losing yet again against Miomir Kecmanovic.
The win actually gives him a second chance to try and win back-to-back matches since July because the last time that happened was at Wimbledon. He hasn't done it since then, and it just shows how badly he played recently.
The opponent is a really good one for that, as Baez is not a good indoor player. He won his first match in Basel, but we shouldn't expect something special from him against Rune.
Head-to-head:
What's interesting about this matchup is the fact that Rune and Baez have played a couple of times so far on the ATP Tour, and the Argentinian actually leads the H2H. All of their matches were played on clay, and Baez won the last two while Rune won the first.
The most recent one happened in Buenos Aires last year, and it's not shocking that Baez won that one. He's excellent on clay, even if Rune is as well, and he was playing on home soil. This match is a bit different as we're in conditions that suit Rune better.
Prediction:
It's very hard to look at Rune's performance against Kecmanovic and think that he'll regress. We've seen how much confidence matters in that match, as Rune immediately started playing better once he won a set against Kecmanovic.
After winning a whole match, I'd expect him to be really buzzing. If that's the case and he seriously comes out in that manner then there is nothing the Argentine can really do.
Prediction: Holger Rune to win in two sets.
