An all-seeded final takes place in St Petersburg today, as the 7th seed Joao Sousa takes on the 2nd seed Milos Raonic. It could be a close match with neither man having won a title this year- here is my prediction!
Joao Sousa can be a dangerous opponent at his best, at that has been shown this week. After a difficult three set win over Radu Albot, he eased past Marcel Granollers for the loss of just 6 games. He then edged Simone Bolelli, who had beaten top seed Tomas Berdych, in two tight sets before upsetting 3rd seed Dominic Thiem 6-4 7-6 in an impressive performance to reach the final. He certainly has a good opportunity if he plays like he has his past few matches.
It hasn’t been a great season for Milos Raonic, compared to his past two years, but he has played some good tennis this week. After receiving a bye in the 1st round he had tight straight sets win over Evgeny Donskoy, before he cruised past 5th seed Tommy Robredo for the loss of just 3 games. He also played well once again in a 6-2 7-6 semi-final win over 4th seed Roberto Bautista Agut. He’s played very well this week- it will be hard for Sousa today.
The main problem for Sousa is the Raonic serve; it is hard to attach anyway and as Raonic will be confident after a good few matches, he’ll most likely be firing big serves down consistently. However it is important for Raonic to stay in the rallies as he can’t give Sousa many points on his serve, as if he is broken it is likely Sousa will win the set. For Sousa it is key he is able to hold his own service games, as if he loses his serves he cannot guarantee he will got many opportunities on the Raonic serve.
It could be tight, but I think Raonic will edge this one.
Prediction: Raonic in 3
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