Daily Tennis Tips – Wednesday November 5th

Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and Italy’s Luciano Darderi resume a busy 2025 rivalry in the Round of 16 in Athens.  

The pair have already met three times this season. Kecmanovic bookended Darderi’s three-set win in Munich with straight-sets victories in Hong Kong and Winston-Salem.  

After outlasting Kamil Majchrzak 7-6 7-6 in the first round, world No.54 Kecmanovic is searching for two wins at the same event for the first time since reaching the Winston-Salem quarters.  

Third seed Darderi received a first-round bye, but he’s on a four-match losing streak. The world No.26 was bounced first up at the Paris Masters by Arthur Cazaux.  

Kecmanovic carries more momentum into this clash and looks a good option to bag another hard-court win over the clay specialist.  

The second seed in Athens, Lorenzo Musetti gets underway against 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka in the Round of 16 – with a spot in the ATP Finals still within reach.  

Their only previous meeting was at the 2020 Rome Masters, where Musetti grabbed a straight-sets win.  

World No.9 Musetti’s quest for a spot at Turin hit a bump with a first-up loss to Lorenzo Sonego at the Paris Masters. He’d enjoyed a solid couple of months since reaching the US Open quarters, getting to the final in Chengdu and the semis in Vienna.  

Though ranked 159th, Wawrinka remains a gritty, formidable competitor on his day. The three-time grand slam winner produced a performance out of the box in the first round against Botic van de Zandschulp, fighting back to win 2-6 7-6 7-5.  

But Wawrinka’s last top-10 win was against Andrey Rublev more than a year ago – and he’s likely to struggle to keep up with Musetti after such a taxing encounter.  

Undefeated Elena Rybakina and winless Madison Keys square off in something of a WTA Finals round-robin dead-rubber.  

Sixth seed Rybakina kicked of the week in Riyadh with a 6-3 6-1 demolition of Amanda Anisimova, before producing a sensational fightback in a 3-6 6-1 6-0 win over Iga Swiatek. Keys was swamped 6-1 6-2 by Swiatek then fell away in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 loss to Anisimova.  

This head-to-head is three-all, with Rybakina winning three of the last four encounters. Key’s prevailed in three sets on her way to the Australian Open title in January, but Rybakina hit back with a 6-7 6-4 6-2 win at the Cincinnati Masters in August.  

Already into the WTA semis for the first time, Rybakina should maintain her roll against Keys, who is on a six-match losing streak against top-10 opposition.  

The high-stakes rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova resumes at the WTA Finals in a straight shootout for a semifinal berth.  

The duo has clashed only twice previously – both in the past four months on the biggest stages. Swiatek carved out a devastating 6-0 6-0 win in the Wimbledon final, but Anisimova responded with a 6-4 6-3 quarterfinal victory on her way to the US Open final.  

World No.2 Swiatek, the 2023 champion, crushed Madison Keys 6-1 6-2 in her opening assignment in Riyadh, but she is looking to bounce back from a stunning 3-6 6-1 6-0 collapse against Elena Rybakina. It was only the second time in 56 matches Swiatek has lost in 2025 from a set up. 

Fourth-ranked Anisimova, who backed up her charge in New York with the China Open title, was humbled 6-3 6-1 by Rybakina but bounced back via a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory over Madison Keys.  

While the US Open result provides Anisimova with a psychological boost, Swiatek remains the superior all-round player and her peerless defence will likely break down the American in this all-or-nothing showdown.