Friday, January 22, 2021, is the day of the quarterfinals of the Istanbul Challenger and the next analysis concerns the unique duel between Ergi Kirkin (449 ATP) from Turkey and Jozef Kovalik (131 ATP) from Slovakia. The recommended prognosis goes in the direction of the better ranked player, much more experienced at a professional level.

Ergi Kirkin: Team form, news and statistics

Ergi (21 years old) is the revelation of this Challenger tournament hosted in Istanbul, in the hall.
He came after a rather weak first match in Antalya, being defeated 0-6 4-6 by the Italian Matteo Berrettini (10 ATP).
However, here he managed to show a new face and provided 2 surprises on the main picture, taking full advantage of the wild card received from the Turkish organizers.
First, Kirkin beat Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi (39, 146 ATP) 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 26 minutes, and then eliminated Brazilian Joao Menezes (193 ATP).in an hour and 37 minutes, with the score of 6-2 7-6.
The Turkish service was one beyond expectations, losing only 1 game when he put the ball back in play.
He saved 2 of 3 balls in round 1 and 5 of 5 in the round of 16. The return was anticipatory, but it is true that he did not have to deal with big-servers, but rather ordinary players with slag.

Jozef Kovalik: Team form, news and statistics

Jozef (28 years old) is a much more experienced player than his opponent, and in the last season and a half he played excellently in the Challenger circuit.
This week he received the status of number 7 seed on the main panel in Istanbul.
The Slovak is a former top 100 tennis player in the world, reaching the 80th place in the ATP.He also collected more points on the slag compared to fast surfaces, but he is a complete, routine player on fast pitches as well.
On indoor hard, he has a negative career balance, with 24 victories and 37 defeats.
In the first 2 rounds of this week he passed another representative of the host country – Altug Celikbilek (298 ATP), with the score of 7-6 2-6 6-4 after an hour and 49 minutes, and in the eighth he defeated the Spaniard Carlos Taberner (143 ATP) with 7-6 6-0, after an hour and 39 minutes.

🎾Statistics of direct matches Ergi Kirkin vs Jozef Kovalik

The two athletes have never faced each other in an official singles match.

Tennis Prediction of the Day Ergi Kirkin vs Jozef Kovalik

I rely with high confidence on the qualification of the Slovak Kovalik in the ace square in Istanbul.
I believe that the lack of experience of the young Ergi Kirkin will be the decisive factor in this quarterfinal.
The Turk is the weakest tennis player to reach this phase of the competition, the only one outside the world top 200.
Jozef has a more complex game, being able to find appropriate tactical solutions in the key moments of the game.
For the outsider it will be quite difficult to handle if the first service will not enter as well as in the previous rounds.

Prediction Today: Victorie Kovalik
Stake: 9/10
Odds: 1.61