Diego Schwartzman vs Aslan Karatsev Mutua Madrid Open 2021: Prediction | Preview | H2H Analysis

The 7th seed Diego Schwartzman faces a tough opener against the in-form Aslan Karatsev in the second round at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Diego Schwartzman vs Aslan Karatsev: Madrid Open Preview

Karatsev defeated the World number 32 Ugo Humbert 7-5 6-4 in the first round of the Madrid Open. 

The Russian pounded 24 winners, smashed 5 aces and also won an impressive 82% of points on his first-serve.

Schwartzman got some much-needed exposure to the conditions at the Madrid Open when he played a doubles match with Italian Fabio Fognini. The pair lost in straight sets in the round of 32 to the red-hot Russian pair of Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.

Diego Schwartzman vs Aslan Karatsev: Head to Head Record

Karatsev leads the head-to-head record 1-0 against Schwartzman. The Russian defeated him in straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open this year. Aslan, who came through the three grueling rounds of qualifying fired 50 winners and the Argentinian could muster only 5.

Schwartzman vs Karatsev: Madrid Open Recent Form on Clay

Schwartzman made it to the quarterfinals of the ATP-500 Barcelona Open 10 days ago losing a tight three-setter to Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. 

His poor win percentage of 41% on the second serve affected his game. Diego did well on the red dirt in 2020 finishing as the runner-up in the Rome Masters (lost to Novak Djokovic) and semifinals in the French Open (was defeated by Rafael Nadal).

Karatsev did not play the Barcelona Open but instead took part in the ATP-250 Belgrade Open where he finished as the runner-up. 

The Russian lost a close three-setter to the second-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini.

Schwartzman vs Karatsev: Madrid Open Game Analysis

The Argentinian is not a big server and operates mainly from the backside of the court with his power-hitting. After getting a bye in the first round of the Madrid Open, Schwartzman would be raring to go for a deep run in Madrid.

Making his debut at the grand and picturesque Caja Magica stadium at Madrid Open, Karatsev looked comfortable on clay controlling the rallies with his aggressive tennis, depth on the backhand, and accumulating a lot of points with his clean ball-striking. 

The Russian has an 18-5 win-loss record in the 2021 season, which is the third-best on the ATP Tour behind the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rublev.

Schwartzman needs to watch out for Karatsev's wide-out serving and return the balls deep inside the court. Karatsev will be full of confidence and will not face any pressure. He has defeated some big names like Djokovic, Rublev, Grigor Dimitrov, and Jannik Sinner this season. 

Schwartzman needs to improve his win percentage on the second serve and also save more breakpoints as he eyes a revenge victory against Karatsev. Clay is his favorite surface and he can control the proceedings from the baseline. However, Aslan Karatsev's rich vein of form and powerful groundstrokes will prove to be more than enough to disrupt the rhythm of Diego Schwartzman.

Prediction - Aslan Karatsev to win the round of 32 Madrid Open game in three sets against Diego Schwartzman

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