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?
ATP Athens Day 1 Predictions
Alejandro Tabilo vs Adam Walton
Head-to-Head: first meeting
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’ll side with Tabilo.
Prediction: Tabilo in 3
Nuno Borges vs Stefanos Sakellaridis
Head-to-Head: first meeting
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.
Prediction: Borges in 2
Alexei Popyrin vs Sebastian Korda
Head-to-Head: Popyrin 1-3 Korda
No. 7 seed Alexei Popyrin has not had a strong 2025 season. The 26-year-old Aussie is likely to finish the 2025 season with a losing record for the first time since 2022. Sebastian Korda’s season hasn’t been much better, however, he bested Popyrin in Stockholm two weeks ago. In the second two sets, Korda lost a combined four games. He seemed to find something against the Aussie, and I suspect he will look to attack it in Athens. I’ll take the American backed by a strong performance from the service line.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – Imagn Images