Hall of Fame Open: Alexander Bublik vs. Ivo Karlovic 7/14/21 Tennis Pick and Prediction

Top seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan will face unseeded Croatian Ivo Karlovic in the Round of 16 of the 2021 Hall of Fame Open. The match is scheduled to take place on Wednesday July 14th, 2021 at approximately 1:00pm EST.

An exciting match is expected here at the Hall of Fame Open as number one seed Alexander Bublik meets the big serving Ivo Karlovic for a spot in the Quarter-Finals. While Karlovic is approaching the end of his long and successful career, he remains one of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour and is an extremely dangerous opponent, especially on grass. Bublik is much higher ranked and will be the favorite here, but the Croatian cannot be discounted. Who will win and advance here in Newport?

Alexander Bublik is one of the most talented and exciting player on the ATP Tour, and is the top seed here at the 2021 Hall of Fame Open. The Kazakh has gotten lots of fans by his electric playing style, performing under hand serves, drop shots and flashy winners at will. He has been having a solid year so far, and finds himself ranked at #37 in the ATP rankings. After a relatively successful grass court season he will be hoping to cap it off with a deep run here, and he is expected to be one of the main contenders for the title here. His big serve, backhand slice and huge forehand will be huge weapons here on the grass, but as always his biggest weapon is his variety. As usual, if he can keep his focus and reduce his error count he will be a difficult opponent to beat here in Newport.

Ivo Karlovic is one of the biggest servers in history, and is the all-time leader in aces on the ATP Tour. The Croatian is almost at the end of a glittering career, and only plays a select few tournaments, thus his low ranking of #210. Even though he is ranked way below his opponent Alexander Bublik, Karlovic will always have a chance in any match due to his serve and if it is clicking will be very tough to handle here on the grass. He has glaring weaknesses in his game, but has great hands at the net and if he can find a way to attack Bublik consistently he has an outside chance of getting the win. If he can manage to break serve just once or twice, he will be liking his chances and will use all his experience to his advantage here.

This is a potentially tricky match for Alexander Bublik, but I expect him to pass the test and escape with a tough win here. The formula is simple. He has to find a way to break the Karlovic serve but that is easier said than done. This match will almost certainly contain at least one tiebreak, and if the Kazakh can hold his nerve on his one serve, he should be come away with the victory. Ivo Karlovic is never out of any match due to his massive serve, but at this stage of his career it is unlikely that he can sustain the intensity needed to win here. Bublik in two very tough sets, at least one tiebreak in the match.