The ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, will be relocated to Athens, Greece, this year. The Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship will be played on an indoor hard court at OAKA Basketball Arena and features 12 top-60 players, including Novak Djokovic. Day 1 brings just three Round of 32 matches to OAKA Arena, including Alexei Popyrin vs Sebastian Korda. As always, we at LWOT have previews and predictions for all matches on the slate. But who will advance to the second round?<\/p>\n
ATP Athens Day 1 Predictions
\nAlejandro Tabilo vs Adam Walton<\/p>\n
Head-to-Head<\/strong>: first meeting<\/p>\n Alejandro Tabilo and Adam Walton are separated by a single ranking spot ahead of their meeting at ATP Athens. After a career year in 2024, Tabilo is just 11-15 in ATP Tour matches this season. That said, since the beginning of September, he is 16-6. Adam Walton, on the other hand, is 2-8 in his last ten matches. To be frank, this match likely comes down to who is more motivated and who is preparing for an offseason vacation. I\u2019ll side with Tabilo.<\/p>\n Prediction: Tabilo in 3<\/p>\n Nuno Borges vs Stefanos Sakellaridis<\/p>\n Head-to-Head<\/strong>: first meeting<\/p>\n No. 6 seed Nuno Borges is wrapping up the best season of his professional tennis career. The 28-year-old from Portugal has amassed 28 ATP wins, including nine over top-50-ranked opponents. However, he has yet to reach an ATP final, something he feels is within reach in Athens. Borges squares off against 21-year-old Greek wildcard Stefanos Sakellaridis. The young Greek will have the backing of his home crowd, but he has little experience against top-100-ranked opponents (1-3). Sakellaridis has a strong future in this sport, but I find it tough to see him taking two sets off of a motivated and consistent Borges.<\/p>\n Prediction: Borges in 2<\/p>\n