Marin Cilic vs. Hubert Hurkacz – Prediction (ATP – 28.10.2019)

Preview and players comparison.

While Marin Cilic is enduring a tough time on tour, Hubert Hurkacz is having his breakthrough season so far in 2019, highlighted by a title-winning run in Winston Salem and a couple of semifinal appearances on the main tour.

Marin Cilic enters Paris Masters after a disappointing campaign in Basel last week where he suffered the first-round defeat for the first time in seven (MD) appearances, 4-6 4-6 against David Goffin. It was the Croatian’s seventh opening-round defeat on the main tour this year. The big-serving Marin Cilic has competed here ten times in the past and reached at least the quarterfinal in his recent three appearances (in 2016, 2017 and 2018). The last time he was unseeded in the main draw of Paris Masters was in 2013 when he defeated Igor Sijsling in the first round but failed against Juan Martin Del Potro in the second. Former world #3 Marin Cilic won a title in London and posted three quarterfinal (or better) results in slams last year but has struggled to back up those results so far in 2019. In fact, he made his first semifinal appearance of the season only in Moscow a couple of weeks ago.

Since winning the title in Winston Salem, the 22-year-old Pole has competed in five tournaments on the main tour and failed to win a match in four of them — recently lost to Karen Khachanov in the first round of ATP Vienna last week. This time last year, Hubert Hurkacz competed in Eckental Challenger, but he will now make his debut in Paris Masters. He won 11 matches on indoor hardcourts in each of the last two seasons but has gone 2/5 so far in 2019. Though Marin Cilic has achieved a lot more at this level (comparatively) and also leads the H2H series 2-0, there isn’t much between these two at the moment and expect both players to have equal chances in this battle.

Match Info and Live Scores.