Analysis for Korolev-Bolelli (ATP Basel)

Head-to-head record 0:0

Italian Simone Bolelli will fight Russian Evgeny Korolev in the opening round and we will go against Korolev again. Last week we said that Korolev is an offensive baseliner with knock out power off both wings. He has a very solid and compact backhand that can generate clean winners from anywhere on the court and also his best shot when defending and getting himself back into rallies, however his forehand, although the more erratic and unreliable wing, can generate unbelievable power. Despite the power of the backhand, Korolev has a more pacey forehand, however, he makes a lot of errors off that wing. Korolev also gets minor criticisms for being one dimensional, however, has amazing drop shots and drive volleys off both the forehand and backhand sides. His overheads are also reliable and he possesses a bomb of a first serve. The second serve can also be a weakness, based on the fact that he tends to rush. His YTD results are not ideal and he was beaten by many below-average players. He will now face Italian Simone Bolelli who is a player performing well on all surfaces. He considers his forehand his best shot, plays right-handed and has a double-handed backhand. Bolelli is not a typical Italian player having a solid serve and playing well on fast surfaces as well as on clay. When he has his day, he can be dangerous to anyone and he wasn’t far from beating Rafael Nadal in Rotterdam this year. Last week, he pushed Simon into 2 tiebreaks which is a good sign of his current form. We just don’t think that Italian should be such a big underdog. Anything above 2.2 is worth trying for a small stake.