Second round action continues on Day 4 in Marrakech as notable contenders for the title like Alexander Zverev, Pablo Andujar, and Philipp Kohlschreiber fight for quarterfinal berths. Who will move on? Who will surprise us? Let’s find out.
ATP Marrakech Day 4 Predictions
Juan Ignacio Londero vs Jiri Vesely
Head to head: First meeting
The Argentinian disposed of Carlos Berlocq very comfortably in the first round, and is currently enjoying the best season of his tennis career so far. He cooled down a bit after capturing his maiden ATP title in Cordoba, but now that he’s back to his favourite surface, we would consider him a favorite to win against the left-handed Czech Jiri Vesely, whose win over Fabio Fognini doesn’t mean as much because the Italian seemed very unmotivated.
Prediction: Londero in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Jaume Munar
Head to head: First meeting
Zverev struggled in the Sunshine Double due to a viral illness, but it seems that he’s put it behind him at this point. Jaume Munar is certainly not a pushover on clay as he already scored wins over Delbonis, Fognini, and Cecchinato this year. However, Zverev will have a huge advantage in power here. Also, for some reason his serve seems to be working the best on clay, which certainly helps against a shorter player like Munar, who is bound to struggle on his own delivery.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Benoit Paire vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Head to head: 1-1
Paire is obviously one of the toughest players to predict. The guy switches from top 10 level to utter rubbish and destroying rackets several times a match, and it’s just a matter of how long he can stay competitive and motivated. Herbert’s game in theory should not be suited to clay, but he has some decent results on the red stuff in the past and we’ll take him to be just that tiny bit more consistent in the long run.
Prediction: Herbert in 3
Pablo Andujar vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
Head to head: Kohlschreiber 2-1
Kohlschreiber survived a scare in the first round, when Spanish 20-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina led 5-1 in the second set only to lose the next six games and give Kohlschreiber a straight-set victory. Andujar had to save four set points in the first set against Federico Delbonis, but also managed to pull through in straights. The Spaniard is on an 11 match-winning streak, including Challenger titles in Marbella and Alicante. He’s might be running out of steam at this point, as all of these matches took place in the last 16 days. However, we’ll take him for the win as he seems to excel on the Moroccan soil, having already captured three titles at this tournament (2011 and 2012 in Casablanca, 2018 in Marrakech).
Prediction: Andujar in 3
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
