ATP Los Cabos Final Prediction

Ahead of the semifinals, most were expecting a final showdown between Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov, but Aleksandar Kovacevic has thrown a spanner in the works by beating Rublev in an ATP 250 semfinal for the second time this year (Montpellier) to reach a second career final and have another opportunity for a maiden title. Shapovalov, meanwhile, will be determined to win another title after an up-and-season so far for the Canadian. But who will come out on top?

ATP Los Cabos Final Prediction

Aleksandar Kovacevic vs Denis Shapovalov

Head-to-head: first meeting

While this final won’t have the same star quality as Rublev vs Shapovalov, Kovacevic has been playing some great tennis this week and produced a great final in Montpellier (where he came very close to beating Shapovalov’s countryman Felix Auger-Aliassime) and will back himself to put in another good performance against Shapovalov.

On paper, this is perhaps the first final in Shapovalov’s career where he starts as a very clear favourite, given his much higher ranking and also how well he has been playing so far this week, dropping no sets and only 12 games en route to the final. If he maintains the kind of level he has shown so far this week, there might be little that Kovacevic can do to stop him. That said, the Canadian is known for his inconsistency and Kovacevic has been playing some very good tennis, not least in getting a second career top 10 win in the semifinals here, both against Rublev this year in the semifinals of ATP 250 events.

Just like in Montpelier, he will have to follow up his win over Rublev against a Canadian opponent; he was very close to beating Felix in France and will be hoping to go one better against Shapovalov. With this week’s performance, the American has already secured a new career high ranking and a title would really cap off a dream week, but under normal circumstances Shapovalov should be a bit too much for him at this point.

Prediction: Shapovalov in 2

Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Click here to read article