Will the German stop the Gstaad finalist?
It’s been five years since Daniel Altmaier, then just 22 years old, stormed his way to the semifinals of the Austrian Open in Kitzbühel. The Kempen native hasn’t managed a run that deep in Tyrol since then. But if the prediction that Daniel Altmaier will make it through the first round unscathed against Raphaël Collignon comes true, perhaps this year would be the time to do it again. In the second round, he’ll face either Alex Molcan or local hero Sebastian Ofner—an opponent against whom he’d certainly have a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals. However, the 24-year-old Belgian Raphaël Collignon is certainly arriving with momentum.
Anyone who hasn’t had Raphaël Collignon on their radar yet should certainly be familiar with him as of Sunday at the latest. Last week, the 24-year-old made it all the way to the final at the Swiss Open in Gstaad, where he lost a close match 1-2 to multiple Masters champion and former world No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
That match also significantly influences our Daniel Altmaier vs. Raphaël Collignon prediction. Although the Belgian is in the form of his life and has reached a new career-high by climbing to No. 37 in the ATP world rankings, he has had only a short recovery period, which is why we’re giving the player from Kempen a positive handicap of +1.5 sets.
Added to this is the quick transition between two completely different courts. While both the Gstaad venue (approx. 1,050 meters) and the Kitzbühel venue (approx. 762 meters) are located high above sea level, the alpine setting has very different effects on how the balls bounce. However, the Belgian is perfectly adapted to the conditions in Switzerland and now has to readjust in less than 48 hours, which is a major challenge both physiologically and technically.
Daniel Altmaier – Raphaël Collignon Head-to-Head Record
Head-to-Head: 0:0
The two players have never faced each other before. As a result, there is no “head-to-head” data available that could influence our prediction for the Daniel Altmaier vs. Raphaël Collignon match in any way.
Daniel Altmaier vs. Raphaël Collignon Prediction
At the Swiss Open last week, Raphaël Collignon reached the final of an ATP Tour tournament for the first time in his career, proving that he can compete with the absolute world elite on clay.
The big question now, however, is whether he’s rested enough after such a heavy schedule to deliver his best performance again in Kitzbühel, especially since he has only a single training session to familiarize himself with the balls’ unpredictable bounce at the high alpine altitude in Tyrol. Daniel Altmaier, for his part, is also on the rise and had a deep run in Kitzbühel back in 2021 that didn’t end until the semifinals.
While we wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the Belgian could replicate his run to the final in Switzerland here in Austria, the first round will still be a major hurdle for him. We consider a straight 2-0 victory highly unlikely, which is why we’re placing a positive handicap of +1.5 sets on the German.
