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Karen Khachanov and local hope Lucas Pouille will meet in the ATP Marseille final on hard indoor.
Khakhanov has been at an exceptional level so far this week, winning all his matches in straight sets against Ruben Bemelmans, Mischa Zverev, Julien Benneteau and Tomas Berdych. What`s more, his performances seemed to improve match after match, to the point that Khachanov played some fantastic tennis in the semifinals against Berdych, winning 6-3 6-2. While Berdych was definitely not at his best, Khakhanov’s performance was still impressive.
Pouille (who already won an indor title this year, two weeks ago in Montpellier), struggled a bit in the early rounds here in Marseille. He lost sets against both Herbert and Krajinovic, before winning in straight sets in the semifinals against Ivashka. But even his semifinal win was not a walk in the park, as Pouille had to save a set point against the feisty Belarussian.
Bet on Khachanov vs Pouille and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!This will be the first meeting between Khachanov and Pouille. Both players love the indoor hard conditions and a matchup analysis will not reveal an advantage for one or the other in terms of style of play.
It`s fair to say that Khachanov played the better tennis so far this week, and there`s actually no debate about that.
The Russian has been really good all tournament and only got better as the week went on. Meanwhile, Pouille had problems in all three matches, and that was against rather poor opposition as well. Facing Herbert, Krajinovic and Ivashka was definitely an easy draw to have, and Pouille barely navigated it.
The question is if Pouille will have what it takes to raise his game for this last act, especially considering that he is the more experienced player – and looking at how well he played just two weeks ago in Montpellier.
But that will not be easy to do against a red hot Khachanov, who can put opponents under pressure and certainly has the cool head to deal with a match like this, despite his young age. He already has an ATP title, and had no problems making light work of the very experienced Berdych in the semis.
Odds on Khackhanov are dropping big time, which is definitely not a surprise based on the arguments I noted above. He is the real favorite here, and the odds might end up reflecting that if they continue to go down. My tip is Khakhanov to win and you might want to take this bet early to capitalize on the current price. Prediction: Karen Khachanov – Lucas Pouille 6-7 6-4 6-3.
Pick: Khachanov
Odds: 2.20 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 9.60
Event date: 25 February
