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Match Details
Fixture: (7) Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexei Popyrin
Date: July 29, 2023
Tournament: Croatia Open Umag
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Croatia, Umag
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Clay
Prize money: €562,815
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Australia - beIN Sports | Canada - TSN
Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexei Popyrin preview
Seventh seed Matteo Arnaldi will take on Alexei Popyrin in the semifinals of the 2023 Croatia Open on Saturday.
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Arnaldi defeated Jesper de Jong and Flavio Cobolli in straight sets to set up a quarterfinal clash against top seed Jiri Lehecka. The young Italian got broken in the very first game of the match and lost his serve once again to lose the opener.
Arnaldi rebounded rather quickly as he started the second set by snagging a break of serve. He fended off break points on his next few service games to go 3-1 up. The 22-year-old then bagged the last three games of the set to take it.
The third set was a close affair, with a single break of serve in Arnaldi's favor helping him seal a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory. He has now reached his first semifinal at the ATP level.
Popyrin ousted Benjamin Bonzi and third seed Sebastian Ofner to reach the last eight, where home favorite Dino Prizmic awaited him. An early break of serve put the Australian in the lead in the first set. However, he dropped serve while trying to close out the set at 5-4.
Nevertheless, Popyrin managed to clinch the set by gaining the upper hand in the ensuing tie-break. He led 3-1 in the second set, but Prizmic fought back to level the score.
Popyrin then wasted a match point on Przmic's serve at 5-4. With the latter serving to stay in the contest at 6-5, the Australian broke his serve on his sixth match point to win 7-6 (2), 7-5.
Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexei Popyrin head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexei Popyrin odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexei Popyrin prediction
Arnaldi did a great job at holding his nerve to stage a comeback. His serve helped him out quite a bit as he hit eight aces and won 75% of his first serve points. The Italian also started to win more points from the baseline as the match went on.
Popyrin has been solid all week and hasn't dropped a set in Umag. He was tested by Prizmic in the quarterfinals, but he managed to subdue him. The Australian is relatively more experienced than Arnaldi, who's gunning to reach his maiden ATP final.
The pressure could prove to be a bit much for the Italian and could possibly impede his play. Popryin will be looking to capitalize on any such letdowns by his opponent. The Australian's a big hitter and a pretty good server to boot. However, if Arnaldi is able to stay focused, he's likely to find himself one step closer to the title.
Pick: Matteo Arnaldi to win in three sets.
