Lukas Lacko vs Marco Cecchinato Tennis Prediction

Lukas Lacko has been quite fortunate with the draw at ATP Eastbourne this week, and he made the most of it by reaching the semifinal of this tournament for the first time (two appearances). So far this week, he has defeated Roberto Quiroz (clay courter), Diego Schwartzman (top seed with a 0/7 career record on grass) and Cameron Norrie (wildcard entrant and Lacko’s toughest opponent of the week).
This is only the first time Lukas Lacko has won back-to-back main draw matches on a tour-level event this season. His previous best result of the season (on tour) was reaching the round of 16 at ATP Auckland in the second week of January (as a lucky loser).
On Friday, the 30-year-old Slovakian will make his second semifinal appearance on tour with the only previous such appearance coming at ATP Zagreb in 2012, where he defeated Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets.
However, Lukas Lacko has made three semifinal appearances at the Challenger circuits in the last eight months and managed to win all three matches, against Jurgen Zopp at Bratislava Challenger 2017, Mirza Basic at Brescia Challenger 2017 and David Guez at Glasgow Challenger 2018.
For the second time in two matches, fourth seed Marco Cecchinato fought back from a set down to secure his progression into the next round, against Denis Istomin in the round of 16 (R1 bye) and John Millman in the quarterfinal.
This is an excellent result for the Italian, who had played only one match on grass in his entire career before entering ATP Eastbourne this week (0/1). Moreover, he had won 32 matches in 2018 with 31 of them coming on clay (before ATP Eastbourne).
This semifinal appearance on grass is one of the many personal milestones Marco Cecchinato has achieved this season. Earlier this year, he won his maiden tour title at Budapest and registered his career-best slam result by reaching the semifinal of the French Open (lost to Dominic Thiem).
Though Lukas Lacko is by far the better player in these conditions, this is an excellent opportunity for both of them to make a rare final appearance in a grass tour-level event. The pair’s first-ever meeting is expected to be an even contest that could go either way.

Tennis Prediction: Marco Cecchinato
Odds: 2.00