Sebastian Korda failed to make the final in Zhuhai last week, but he's in the final at the 2023 Astana Open, hoping to add another trophy to his tally.
Korda played a couple of finals in his career so far, but he doesn't have a really good record in the ATP finals. He has a trophy already, winning the Emilia-Romagna Open in 2021. That was the second final he ever played, with the first coming in Delray Beach, but that was a loss.
He lost the next three as well; Gijon last year, Antwerpn last year, and Adelaide this year. He'll now play another one, hoping to finally win his second one. Adrian Mannarino has had a similar experience so far in his career because he, too, played a couple of finals (13) but lost the majority of them (10).
One of those actually was in Astana in 2020 as he was beaten by John Millman. Three years later Mannarino is back into the final hoping to get it done.
Head-to-head:
They haven't played before, so this is going to be very interesting, especially in a week where both were pretty strong but not perfect. Both dropped sets, especially Korda, who barely pulled through against Hamad Medjedovic, who is supported by Novak Djokovic.
Prediction:
So the matchup will mostly come down to Korda because he can generate more power. He has the better serve, her has more power in his shots and if he delivers his best he'll win the trophy. Mannarino has a tricky style but he's not as powerful from teh baseline which can be a problem especially indoors.
It's a tough one because they're playing on a similar level, so nobody is the clear favorite even though I think the matchup does favor Korda quite a bit. We haven't seen this one play out on the courts, so there is nothing to fall back on. I'll side with Korda.
Prediction: Sebastian Korda to win in two sets.
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