Matteo Arnaldi vs Alexei Popyrin Prediction & Betting Tips - Umag, Croatia

Prediction published on 29/07/2023, 00:51  by Kennedy Kechula | Modified on 29/07/2023 at 05:00 in Tennis Predictions

Seventh seed Matteo Arnaldi and unseeded Alexei Popyrin will on Saturday square off in the semifinals of the 2023 Croatia Open. Arnaldi will be highly confident of reaching the final after he defeated top seed Jiri Lehecka in the last round. It was the toughest match he has played so far in Umag as he was forced to come from behind to win. The Italian is having an excellent season and has so far compiled a 36-17 win-loss record. His form on clay has been exceptional. On this surface is where 23 of his victories and two of his three challenger titles have come. After advancing to the first tour semifinal of his career, Arnaldi is now up to 62nd place in the live ranking.

Just like Arnaldi, Alexei Popyrin is having quite the debut tournament in Umag. The Australian has won all his three matches without dropping a set. This has extended his record on clay to 13-6. After a difficult time on grass, the Australian is happy to be back winning again. To advance to this round, he battled to defeat the wildcard Dino Prizmic in two hours and 23 minutes. He was forced to seven games in each of the sets with the opener requiring a tiebreak. He is now up to number 81 in the live ranking after earning 80 ranking points. Popyrin is yet to win a title this season. The winner here will set up a duel with either second-seed Lorenzo Sonego or sixth-seed Stan Wawrinka in the final.