Otto Virtanen and Rudolf Molleker will face off in the semifinal of the Lugano Challenger for the 1st time in their career. They are scheduled to compete on Saturday at 9:00 pm on CENTRALE. In this post, we analyze their head to head performance and prediction.
Prediction, odds and live streaming
The pick for Tennis Tonic is Otto Virtanen who should win in 2 sets.
As per the initial odds, Otto Virtanen is the pick to win this match.
Otto Virtanen -> 1.36
Rudolf Molleker -> 2.92
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Prediction and head to head Otto Virtanen vs. Rudolf Molleker
There is no head to head record between Otto Virtanen and Rudolf Molleker since this will be the first time that they will clash against each other in the main tour.
Otto Virtanen
| Year | Total | Hard | Clay | I.hard | Grass | Carpet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 43-28 | 9-11 | 5-7 | 24-7 | 5-3 | 0-0 |
| 2023 | 33-31 | 4-6 | 4-10 | 22-11 | 3-4 | 0-0 |
| 2022 | 46-31 | 4-1 | 7-12 | 25-13 | 8-3 | 2-2 |
| 2021 | 40-21 | 2-2 | 16-11 | 19-6 | 0-0 | 3-2 |
| 2020 | 24-9 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 21-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Ranked no. 126, Virtanen got to the semifinal after beating Remy Bertola 7-5 6-3, Cem Ilkel 6-2 6-1 and Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3 6-2.
In the quarter, Otto had a good straight sets win against Herbert (6-3 6-2). During the match, Virtanen scored 61 points vs Herbert’s 41. The Finn was very aggressive to blast 20 winners.
Talking about the service games, Virtanen bagged 4 aces and he committed only 3 double faults. Otto Virtanen was exceptionally efficient on serve to win 80% (20/25) of his 1st serve and 64% (18/28) on the second serve. This was the main reason for not conceding a single break during the match. Virtanen broke Herbert 3 times after converting 33% of his break points (3/9).
Overall Performance in this tournament
Otto hasn’t lost yet a set in this competition to win 60% of the points he played.
Virtanen has a solid match record in the last 8 years having won 61% of his matches (178-113). 14-1 on indoor hard courts in 2024. Talking about his performance on the same surface of this event, Virtanen has a composed109-42 win-loss record in the last 8 years on indoor hard courts.
His best result of the season was winning the title the Pau Challenger where he defeated Leandro Riedi in the final 7-5 7-5.
Otto has a compiled 16-5 win-loss record in 2024, 14-1 on indoor hard courts (See FULL STATS).
Previously in the Lugano Challenger
Rudolf Molleker
| Year | Total | Hard | Clay | I.hard | Grass | Carpet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 28-34 | 4-8 | 15-18 | 7-6 | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| 2023 | 53-35 | 2-3 | 42-25 | 6-5 | 0-1 | 3-1 |
| 2022 | 47-28 | 2-1 | 45-24 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 2021 | 8-23 | 0-1 | 6-16 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| 2020 | 0-7 | 0-1 | 0-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Ranked no. 187, Rudolf reached the semifinal after defeating Sho Shimabukuro 6-4 6-4, Jan Choinski 7-65 6-4 and Gijs Brouwer 6-4 7-64.
In the quarter, The German had a good straight sets win against Brouwer (6-4 7-64). During the match Molleker scored 84 points vs Brouwer’s 73. Molleker was exceptionally aggressive to blast 36 winners.
About the serving games, Molleker struck 14 aces and he committed only 2 double faults. Rudolf Molleker was quite effective on serve to win 80% (36/45) of his 1st serve and 60% (18/30) on the second serve. This was the main reason for not conceding a single break during the match. Rudolf broke Brouwer once after converting 17% of his break points (1/6).
Overall Performance in this tournament
Rudolf hasn’t dropped yet a set in the tournament to win 54% of the points he played.
The German has a composed 9-6 win-loss record in 2024, 5-2 on indoor hard courts (See FULL STATS).
Previously in the Lugano Challenger
The German has never competed in this tournament before.
H2H Performance in the tournament (main draw)
Matches, sets, games and points
| Points | Virtanen | Molleker |
|---|---|---|
| Match played | 3 | 3 |
| Tot Set | 6 | 6 |
| Tot Games | 53 | 66 |
| Pts | 192-130 | 220-189 |
| Total Points | 322 | 409 |
| Winners | 67 | 96 |
| %Winners | 35% | 44% |
Both Virtanen and Molleker played 3 matches. Both players have not surrendered a single set in this event so far. Talking about their workload, Virtanen and Molleker have played the same amount of sets 6. However, Virtanen played 13 games less than Molleker. Virtanen scored 67 winners (35% of the total points). On the other side, Molleker bagged 96 winners (44%).
Serve Performance
| Serve | Virtanen | Molleker |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 20 | 37 |
| Avg per match | 6.7 | 12.3 |
| 1st in | 78/148 | 121/195 |
| %1st in | 53% | 62% |
| 1st pts | 67/78 | 96/121 |
| %1st pts | 86% | 79% |
| 2nd pts | 40/70 | 48/74 |
| %2nd pts | 57% | 65% |
Virtanen fired 20 aces (6.7 per match). Molleker bagged 37 aces (12.3 per match). Virtanen won 86% points on his first serve. He very solid his second serve to win 57% of the points. On the other side, Molleker won 79% of the points on his first serve. He had a solid display on his second serve to win 65% of the points.
How they played the important points
| Breaks | Virtanen | Molleker |
|---|---|---|
| Won | 12 | 6 |
| Converted | 12/31 | 6/14 |
| % Converted | 39% | 43% |
| Conceded | 5 | 7 |
| Saved | 3 | 5 |
| % Saved | 60% | 71% |
| Times Broken | 2 | 2 |
The Finn broke his opponents 12 times with a 39% conversion rate. Otto lost his serve twice and he saved 60% of the break points that he conceded. Molleker broke his opponents 6 times with a 43% conversion rate. Rudolf conceded his serve twice and he saved 71% of the break points that he conceded.
| Virtanen | |||||
| R1 Bertola |
R2 Ilkel |
1/4 Herbert |
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 7-5 6-3 | 6-2 6-1 | 6-3 6-2 | ||
| Tot Set | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| Tot Games | 21 | 15 | 17 | 53 | |
| pts | 77-62 | 54-27 | 61-41 | 192-130 | |
| Total points | 139 | 81 | 102 | 322 | |
| Winners | 26 | 21 | 20 | 67 | |
| %Winners | 34% | 39% | 33% | 35% | |
| SERVE | |||||
| Aces | 5 | 11 | 4 | 20 | |
| Double Faults | 1 | 6 | 3 | 10 | |
| 1st in | 32/61 | 21/34 | 25/53 | 78/148 | |
| % 1st in | 52% | 62% | 47% | 53% | |
| 1st pts | 26/32 | 21/21 | 20/25 | 67/78 | |
| % 1st pts | 81% | 100% | 80% | 86% | |
| 2nd pts | 17/29 | 5/13 | 18/28 | 40/70 | |
| % 2nd pts | 59% | 38% | 64% | 57% | |
| Breaks | |||||
| Won | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 | |
| Converted | 3/12 | 6/10 | 3/9 | 12/31 | |
| Converted % | 25% | 60% | 33% | 39% | |
| Conceded | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Saved | 2/3 | 0/1 | 1/1 | 3 | |
| Saved % | 67% | 0% | 100% | 56% | |
| Times Broken | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Molleker | |||||
| R1 Shimabukuro |
R2 Choinski |
1/4 Brouwer |
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 6-4 6-4 | 7-65 6-4 | 6-4 7-64 | ||
| Tot Set | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| Tot Games | 20 | 23 | 23 | 66 | |
| pts | 67-51 | 69-65 | 84-73 | 220-189 | |
| Total points | 118 | 134 | 157 | 409 | |
| Winners | 28 | 32 | 36 | 96 | |
| %Winners | 42% | 46% | 43% | 44% | |
| SERVE | |||||
| Aces | 13 | 10 | 14 | 37 | |
| Double Faults | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1st in | 33/48 | 43/72 | 45/75 | 121/195 | |
| % 1st in | 69% | 60% | 60% | 62% | |
| 1st pts | 28/33 | 32/43 | 36/45 | 96/121 | |
| % 1st pts | 85% | 74% | 80% | 79% | |
| 2nd pts | 11/15 | 19/29 | 18/30 | 48/74 | |
| % 2nd pts | 73% | 66% | 60% | 65% | |
| Breaks | |||||
| Won | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |
| Converted | 3/6 | 2/2 | 1/6 | 6/14 | |
| Converted % | 50% | 100% | 17% | 43% | |
| Conceded | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
| Saved | 0/1 | 1/2 | 4/4 | 5 | |
| Saved % | 0% | 50% | 100% | 50% | |
| Times Broken | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
Head 2 Head
LWWLWWWWWL
LLLLLLWWLW Tennis Scores in Lugano Challenger
- Daniel MasurMasur – Radu AlbotAlbot (7-60 7-64) – See score progression
- Zizou BergsBergs – Mikhail KukushkinKukushkin (6-3 6-4) – See score progression
- Otto VirtanenVirtanen – Pierre-Hugues HerbertHerbert (6-3 6-2) – See score progression
- Rudolf MollekerMolleker – Gijs BrouwerBrouwer (6-4 7-64) – See score progression
- Sander Arends/Sem VerbeekArends/Sem Verbeek – Sho Shimabukuro/Yasutaka UchiyamaShimabukuro/Yasutaka Uchiyama (6-2 6-3) – See score progression
- Otto VirtanenVirtanen – Pierre-Hugues HerbertHerbert (6-3 6-2) – See score progression
Upcoming matches in the draw
- Zizou BergsBergs – Daniel MasurMasur (2-0) – H2H and prediction
- Rudolf MollekerMolleker – Otto VirtanenVirtanen (0-0) – H2H and prediction
