Nikoloz Basilashvili (3) meets Sebastian Baez (LL) in the second round of the 2021 Hamburg Open on Wednesday, July 14th, 2021.
Will we see a huge upset by the unknown Sebastian Baez who aims to make a name for himself on the ATP Tour, or will the very experienced and Hamburg loving, Nikoloz Basilashvili come out here ready to give it his best in the hopes of his 3rd title of the year?
Sebastian Baez has been very lucky to get this far here at the Hamburg Open, coming into the draw as a lucky loser due to a withdrawal of a player, and being able to win his first match against a much better player in Corentin Moutet. Mouter should have done much better in that match and he should have destroyed Baez, but this did not happen, and now Baez has a lot of confidence coming into the second round as he meets another experienced opponent in Nikoloz Basilashvili in the hopes of causing the huge upset and get himself somewhat known.
Nikoloz Basilashvili will be very happy to be back in probably his favourite tournament at the Hamburg Open, where he has won 2 titles throughout his career. Nikoloz is at his best on clay in my opinion, as he is a great mover around the court, and he is not afraid of playing long and draining rallies, unlike other surfaces where he needs to be ready to take more risks in quicker points. Nikoloz will know that this will be an important match for him to get under his belt to find his rhythm here and get back to his best straight away on clay.
This is going to be the 1st meeting between both players, and unfortunately for Sebastian Baez, I don’t see him getting anything going here. He beat Moutet in the first round, but Moutet is also known for sometimes just not giving it his all when its not going his way. Nikoloz does not do that often, and he does not do that especially when it comes to the Hamburg Open where he loves to perform at his best. I expect Nikoloz to come out here and get a strong win under his belt.