Radu Albot (Image Credit: ATP Challenger Tour - Twitter)
Moldovan veteran Radu Albot squares off against Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic in the round of 16 of the 2023 Delray Beach Open on Thursday.
The 33-year-old came into the tournament after crashing out in the round of 16 of the Dallas Open. He defeated Liam Krall in the first round before going down to 6th seed J.J. Wolf in straight sets.
In the round of 32 of the Delray Beach Open, Albot faced French veteran Fernando Verdasco. The match turned out to be a close affair but Albot showed great discipline and determination to win the match in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1). Albot had a win percentage of 76 on the first serve and converted 3 out of 5 break points. He also benefited from the 8 double faults that the 39-year-old committed during the encounter.
The Sydney-born athlete also took part in the Dallas Open. His run ended in the first round of qualifying as he lost to Zachary Svajda of the USA.
In the first round of qualifying in the Delray Beach Open, Vukic defeated Alex Rybakov in three sets. Christopher Eubanks gave Vukic stiff competition to Vukic in the second round of qualifying. The American player won the first set but Vukic bounced back to win the match. In the round of 32, Vukic once again faced Eubanks. Like their previous encounter, Eubanks once again bagged the first set before Vukic made a comeback to win the match 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4.
Radu Albot and Aleksandar Vukic have faced each other before once. The former picked up the win in the 2022 Australian Open in straight sets 6-4, 7-6, 6-4. Therefore, Albot leads the head-to-head scoreline 1-0.
Prediction: Radu Albot to win in three sets.
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