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Alex De Minaur vs Fernando Verdasco: Sydney International tennis live scores, blog

Roar Guru
9th January, 2018

Live Scores

Scores updated regularly. REFRESH NOW

2018 Sydney International, January 9

Men's singles, 1st round

Ken Rosewall Arena, New South Wales Tennis Centre

Alex De Minaur vs Fernando Verdasco

 
  s1 s2 s3
Alex De Minaur, AUS 6 6
Fernando Verdasco, ESP 4 2
Time: 2.15pm AEDT (TBC)
Venue: Ken Rosewall Arena
Last meeting: First meeting
TV: Live 7mate or Channel Seven
Betting: A De Minaur $2.87, F Verdasco $1.42
(AAP Image/Darren England).
Roar Guru
9th January, 2018
43

Rising Aussie star Alex De Minaur begins his Sydney international campaign against former Australian Open semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from around 2:30pm (AEDT).

Australian tennis is in good stead following the recent exploits of Nick Kyrgios and De Minaur. The latter reached his maiden ATP tour semi-final last week at the Brisbane International, losing a tight three-setter to established American Ryan Harrison.

Despite the defeat, De Minaur has firmly established himself as a player to watch out for in Sydney and at the Australian Open next week.

The 18-year-old has proven himself to be a stern competitor and more importantly, De Minaur isn’t afraid to go on the offensive against established stars.

His performance against Milos Raonic, in particular, was very impressive. Raonic is the biggest server on tour, but that mattered for little against De Minaur, who returned superbly to frustrate Raonic en route to a straight-sets victory.

With each passing victory however, expectations will rise for De Minaur and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the added pressure, beginning against Verdasco.

Verdasco should provide De Minaur with another stern test despite producing some underwhelming performances over the past few seasons.

Last year, Verdasco only reached one final in Dubai, an ATP 500 event, where he lost to first-seeded Andy Murray in straight sets. He also reached three semifinals in Doha, Stockholm, and Båstad.

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Regardless, on his day, Verdasco remains one of the most dangerous players on the ATP tour. His serve and forehand are major weapons and De Minaur will do well to cover the court and nullify Verdasco’s shot-making prowess.

Prediction
De Minaur only needs to replicate his competitive showing at the Brisbane International to give himself the best chance of winning.

Verdasco can get frustrated under pressure and unforced errors might flow from his racquet. If De Minaur can cover the court well and maintain his present form, he is certainly in the running to attain another impressive victory.

De Minaur in three sets.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage from around 2:30pm (AEDT) or at the completion of Agnieszka Radwanska versus Johanna Konta on the Ken Rosewall Arena.

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