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Match Details
Fixture: Alex de Minaur vs (Q) Henri Laaksonen.
Date: August 16, 2022.
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2022.
Round: First Round (Round of 64).
Venue: Cincinnati, Ohio.
Category: ATP Masters 1000.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $6,280,880.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sport18.
Alex de Minaur vs Henri Laaksonen preview
World No. 20 Alex de Minaur will take on qualifier Henri Laaksonen in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday.
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De Minaur kicked off the North American hardcourt swing by winning the Atlanta Open. He defeated James Duckworth, Adrian Mannarino, Ilya Ivashka and Jenson Brooksby en route to the title.
However, the Australian was unable to replicate his form at the Citi Open, going down to eventual finalist Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round.
De Minaur then defeated Denis Shapovalov in the opening round of the Canadian Open and followed it up with a win over Grigor Dimitrov in the next round. He lost to compatriot Nick Kyrgios in straight sets in the third round.
The 23-year old hasn't been past the third round in Cincinnati so far, and will be aiming to change that this year.
Laaksonen's recent results, meanwhile, haven't been very impressive.
He lost to Max Purcell in the first round of the Los Cabos Open. The Swiss then competed at a Challenger event in Chicago, where he was the top seed. However, he lost in the opening round once again.
Laaksonen's low ranking meant he had to play the qualifiers in Cincinnati. He scored a straight-sets win over Taro Daniel in the first round. The 30-year-old then staged a comeback from a set down to defeat Thiago Monteiro in three sets to enter the main draw.
Laaksonen will now be making his main draw debut in Cincinnati.
Alex de Minaur vs Henri Laaksonen head-to-head
De Minaur leads Laaksonen 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter in five sets at the 2019 Australian Open.
Alex de Minaur vs Henri Laaksonen odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Alex de Minaur vs Henri Laaksonen prediction
De Minaur's record for the year stands at 34-18, while Laaksonen's record is a dismal 5-12. The latter hasn't won a main draw match since the French Open a few months ago.
However, Laaksonen played quite well in the qualifying rounds. Against Monteiro, he hit aces and 38 winners while committing 31 errors. He'll need to maintain a similar level of performance if he wants to stay competitive against De Minaur.
The Australian, meanwhile, was stopped by the in-form Kyrgios in Canada last week, but has been playing some great tennis of late. He should have no problems handling Laaksonen's brand of tennis given his decent run of form this year.
De Minaur has been consistent for the better part of the season and is unlikely to face much trouble against Laaksonen. The latter has also won very few matches against players in the top 20 throughout his career.
Consequently, De Minaur is expected to make a winning start to his campaign in Cincinnati.
Pick: Alex de Minaur to win in straight sets.
