Day two of the Hungarian Open features a number of Serbians looking to continue impressive starts to the season with a deep run in Budapest. One player who might have had high hopes of success in Hungary is Marco Cecchinato, but unfortunately injury has forced the defending champion to withdraw. Nonetheless, Tuesday promises plenty of exciting clay-court action. But who will come through?
John Millman vs Miomir Kecmanovic (first on Center Court)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Young gun Kecmanovic is just one of many Serbian’s to have shone so far in 2019 in what has been an excellent year for tennis in the Balkan nation. That said, following his surprising run to the last eight in Indian Wells, the 19-year-old has struggled to immediately build off such success. But after two good wins in the qualifying over Alessandro Giannessi and Sergiy Stahkovsky, Kecmanovic will surely be feeling confident. It’s certainly another step in the right direction for the teenager.
Millman will, however, present a stern test. The Australian played some superb tennis to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open last season, a run highlighted by his victory over Roger Federer in the fourth round. But Kecmanovic will be used to the conditions in the Hungarian capital after his matches in the qualifying and that should provide him with a significant advantage. In a match likely to feature plenty of long rallies and running, expect the Serbian to collect a big win.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in three
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Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Damir Dzumhur (first on Court Two)
Head-to-head: 1-1
To the surprise of many, Herbert had a solid run to the third round last week at the Monte Carlo Masters, despite having traditionally struggled to find his best tennis on the clay. Dzumhur, on the other hand, retired during his first-round match and question marks remain over his fitness. If he is healthy, then the man from Bosnia should have a good chance of pulling out what would be a much-needed win, with his defensive style likely to grind Herbert down in the long run. However, the Frenchman does have the quality to make life difficult for almost any opponent thanks to his superb touch at the net. And without knowing where Dzumhur’s game is at physically, it is hard to back him.
Prediction: Herbert in three
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Ernests Gulbis vs Laslo Djere (third on Center Court)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Once upon a time Gulbis’ career looked so promising. In 2014, he cracked the top ten after reaching the semifinals at the French Open (lost to Djokovic) and looked like a player capable of challenging for the biggest titles in the sport. Five years later, it’s all gone pear shaped with the Latvian struggling for wins at tour-level. Indeed, he arrives in Budapest off the back of six losses in a row.
Djere’s form, however, isn’t much better, wit the Serbian having suffered four losses in his last five matches since his amazing run to the title in Rio. That said, Djere illustrated in Brazil what he’s capable of on the clay, with his two-hander a particularly impressive shot. It will need to be to overcome Gulbis’ backhand, also a dangerous weapon, but Djere should be the more confident of the two men coming into this one, and rightly so.
Prediction: Djere in three
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Dusan Lajovic vs Mate Valkusz (fourth on Center Court)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Surprise Monte Carlo finalist Lajovic will surely be hoping to continue to play at the level he showed in the Principality, where he stunned David Goffin, Indian Wells champion Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, who was fresh off an upset win over world #1 Novak Djokovic. Though he came up just short in the final against Fabio Fognini, losing 3-6 4-6, he showed what he’s capable of when he plays with conviction and could well be a difficult man to stop in Hungary.
It certainly seems like a big ask for local wildcard Valkusz, ranked 323rd in the world. It may count in his favour that Lajovic is likely to be feeling the effects, mental and physical, of his impressive run in Monte Carlo. But nonetheless, this seems like the perfect first-round match for the Serbian to use to ease himself into the week. Expect him to have too much for the unheralded Hungarian.
Prediction: Lajovic in two
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