The second round action at the ATP Hong Kong Open 2025 continues into the year as Cameron Norrie and Karen Khachanov lead the way on Wednesday, January 1. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Hong Kong.
- Get all the remaining tennis betting tips and predictions of the day here
- Also read what’s a Tennis Betting Accumulator here
Cameron Norrie v Lorenzo Sonego Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been two previous meetings between these two players and it’s 1-1 there. While Sonego won on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo in 2019, Norrie got the better of his opponent at the 2024 Indian Wells Open.
Having finished the 2021 season ranked 12th in the world, Norrie would go on to break into the top 10 soon after and while his performances in 2023 weren’t quite up to the level he would have liked, he did end that year 18th on the ATP charts.
Unfortunately for him, things petered out badly in 2024 and he now enters this new season hoping to remain in the top 50 as a result of that.
Which is why, while he started off a 4/6 favourite in his opener against Learner Tien, there were worries about how well he goes about his business. In the end it turned out to be a fairly straightforward win with the Briton clinching a second round berth 6-3, 7-5.
He will now take on Sonego, who himself was once ranked 21st in the world but following an underwhelming 2024 season has fallen outside the top 50.
That, however, did not stop the 7/5 underdog Sonego from upsetting American Brandon Nakashima in the opener. He won 7-6 (4), 6-3 to set up this meeting and while Norrie starts out a favourite at 3/5, this could go either ways.
Norrie v Sonego prediction: Three sets in the match: 6/5
Karen Khachanov v Kei Nishikori Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been six previous meetings between these two players between 2016 and 2021 and Nishikori leads 4-2. On hardcourt surfaces, it’s 2-0 in favour of Nishikori, having won at the US Open in 2016 and the Vienna Open of 2018.
Having finished the 2017 season ranked 45th in the world, Khachanov has managed to remain in the top 30 in each of the following year-ending rankings and top 20 in all but one of them.
Last year, Khachanov won a couple of titles – at Almaty and Doha – the first time ever since 2018 he has done that. He had a first round bye here and will now hope to overturn his poor record against wild-card entrant Nishikori.
Nishikori was once a top-4 player but fitness concerns in recent times meant he was off the courts for a while and saw his ranking plummet drastically.
He ended the 2023 season at 352 before showing some promise in 2024 as he climbed up to 106 by the time the season had ended.
Having begun at 7/5 odds in his opener against Denis Shapovalov, Nishikori then crushed his Canadian opponent 6-2, 6-3 to signal a complete return to his old self.
Expect him to make things difficult for Khachanov here.
Khachanov v Nishikori prediction: Khachanov to win AND Over 20.5 games in the match: 8/5
Arthur Fils v Zizou Bergs Preview
Head-to-Head: While they have never faced off at the highest level, these two did feature in a match in 2021 on the Challenger circuit and Bergs had won it in straight sets,
20-year-old Fils has hit a career-best ranking of 20th in the world and having made the quarterfinals last year at this competition he would look to defend his points from there at the very least.
Fils had a first round bye as one of the top four seeds and is coming into this season as the winner of two ATP titles last year – on the clay courts of Hamburg and then at the Japan Open later in the season.
And he now faces an opponent who has never been ranked better than 61st.
Bergs was handed an easy opener in the form of Alejandro Moro Canas, who is ranked 169th at the moment and was forced to come through the qualifiers. He took full advantage of that by winning 6-4, 6-4.
Fils v Bergs prediction: Fils to win: 9/20
Miomir Kecmanovic v Alexandre Muller Preview
Head-to-Head: Kecmanovic and Muller have never faced off in a competitive match before this.
Kecmanovic starts off a favourite here, having usurped Luciano Darderi in straight sets in the first round. His opponent, however, is a bit of a sticky customer with Muller having defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler in the first round despite starting out a 13/10 underdog in that encounter.
Making matters worse for Muller was the fact that he fell a set behind early in the match and the writing looked to be on the wall.
He came back to clinch his second round berth with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 and while he knows he will be up against it against the experience of Kecmanovic we wouldn’t count him out of this one.
Kecmanovic v Muller prediction: Sets Handicap – Muller +1.5: 5/6
Other Hong Kong Open 2025 Predictions of the Day
- NA
