David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Roberto Bautista Agut: ATP Washington – First round

Veteran Roberto Bautista Agut will face off against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the opening round of ATP Montreal.

Thanasi Kokkinakis Profile

Thanasi Kokkinakis is 91st in the ATP rankings, and his career high was No. 65. The Australian is 25-17 for the season, and 11-10 on hard surface.

Kokkinakis is coming off a 7-6, 6-3 win over Roberto Carballes Baena in the qualifiers. Last week, he lost in the round of 16 in Washington to Sebastian Korda.

Kokkinakis’ best result this season was winning the Challenger in Sarasota where he defeated Zizou Bergz in the final.

This is his first appearance in Montreal since 2015.

Roberto Bautista Agut Profile

Roberto Bautista Agut is currently 76th in the rankings and his career high was No. 9 in the world. The Spaniard is 25-20 for the season and 7-7 on hard.

Bautista Agut is coming off a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Aslan Karatsev in the qualifiers in Montreal. Last week, he lost 6-1, 6-4 to Denis Shapovalov in the opening round in Washington.

Bautista Agut’s best results this season were the quarterfinals in Hong Kong and Bordeaux.

His best result in Montreal is the round of 16 in 2022.

Head-to-Head Bautista Agut leads 1-0

• Bautista Agut vs Kokkinakis 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 (2023 ATP Adelaide 2)

Prediction and Conclusion

Roberto Bautista Agut is one of the oldest players on tour, but he still plays at a competitive level, which gives him a decent chance in Montreal. Kokkinakis is still just 28 years old, but the feeling is that he has already played his best tennis. The Australian has lacked consistency throughout his career, and his shape is always a question. Both players had to play a qualifying match to get into the main draw and showed that they were ready to go. This will be a tough battle between the two, and it will be a long match that will go over 22.5 games in total.