Erste Open: Matteo Berrettini vs. Nikolosz Basilashvili 10/27/21 Tennis Prediction

Third seeded Matteo Berrettini and Nikolosz Basilashvili will square off in the Round of 16 at the 2021 Erste Open. The match will be played on Wednesday October 27th, 2021.

Matteo Berrettini has been having a fantastic season and has recently qualified for the year end top 8 event in Turin. The Italian star is currently ranked number seven in the world and has had a lot of outstanding achievements this season, most notably Finals appearances in Madrid and at Wimbledon. He has been in mixed form lately and will be looking to have a good week here at the Erste Open as he prepares for Turin. Berrettini overcame a strong challenge from Alexei Popyrin in the First Round, serving extremely well during the 7-6, 6-3 win. On this super-fast surface his huge serve and forehand are almost unplayable, so once he can keep his errors to a minimum he will be one of the main contenders to win this event.

Nikolosz Basilashvili is ranked number 25 in the world and while he is known for being very inconsistent, he has been in good form lately. He stunned the tennis world by reaching the Indian Wells Final, losing to fellow surprise Finalist Cameron Norrie. The Georgian has a huge baseline game and is relentless in attack. When he is playing well be can be incredibly difficult to beat, but he can also make a lot of mistakes due to the aggressive nature of his game. He is the underdog here against Matteo Berrettini, but will have lots of confidence after Indian Wells and will believe in his ability to win here. While the odds are firmly stacked against him, he is capable of going on crazy hitting streak and can make things difficult for the Italian.

This is a match between two in-form players, both of whom have extremely attacking baseline games. While this will be an exciting match to watch and will be full of huge serving and hitting, there will only be one outcome. As good as Nikolosz Basilashvili has been, he simply is no match for the third seeded Matteo Berrettini and will lose here. Berrettini is one of the best players in the world on a surface that suits him well, so he will win this comfortably and move on to the Quarters. He is gearing up for a strong finish to the season and will be fully focused on the task at hand here, and it is difficult to see the unseeded Georgian causing him too many issues.