Denis Kudla vs Alexander Bublik Prediction: Going for a Kudla win

7th seed Alexander Bublik faces world number 77 and unseeded Denis Kudla in the first round of this ATP 250 series event at Stuttgart, Germany. The Mercedes Cup is on grass courts as the Tennis season has moved into the grass swing.

29-year-old American Denis Kudla has already started his grass season. At the Surbiton Open in Britain he defeated Andy Murray in the semi-final before falling to his compatriot Thompson Jordan in straight sets in the final. Kuala is in fine form with one loss in five. In the last 12 months, Kudla has a record of 16 wins and 5 losses for a 76% win rate on grass.

World number 42, Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan had a clay season to forget. H lost in the first rounds at Madrid and Rome and won only one match at Roland Garros where he beat Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets before succumbing to Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 64.

The sportsbooks don’t have a clear favourite for this match. While Kudla is having a decent run on grass, Bublik has had a wretched run recently, albeit on clay. Although Bublik is the tiger ranked player and is seed 7 at the tournament, Kudla already has grass court games under his belt while Bublik will be making his debut on the surface this season here in Stuttgart. Also, Kudla has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head between the two players with a defeat of Bublik in 2018 on the grass at Surbiton.

• Denis Kudla to win for 1.88
• First set total over 9.5 for 1.45
• Set betting 2-1 to Denis Kudla for 4.75

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