With Wimbledon now less than a month away, the grass-court swing is set to begin in earnest at the Stuttgart Open. Plenty of talented players will be will looking to make the perfect transition from the dirt to the grass this week in Germany. But who will survive on day one and who will fall by the wayside?
ATP Stuttgart Day One Predictions
Mischa Zverev vs Jo-Wilfred Tsonga
Head-to-head: 2-0 Tsonga
Home hope Mischa Zverev will take on former-world #5 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga for a place in the second round in Stuttgart. Zverev’s best surface is grass, and he won his first ATP title last year on the grass in Eastbourne. However, his form this season has been very poor. Indeed, he has only won one match on tour all season, and that win came due to his opponent’s retirement. He is currently on an eight match losing streak, has lost 19 of his past 20 matches and would not be in the main draw if it were not for a wildcard.
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, playing with a protected ranking, has not been at his best since his return from injury. But he is dangerous on all surfaces and twice reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. He also showed real signs of life in a four-set loss to Nishikori at the French Open and leads this head-to-head 2-0, although the matches were played some years ago on hard courts. Nonetheless, considering the German’s horrendous form so far in 2019, it is hard to look past Tsonga.
Prediction: Tsonga in two
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Denis Shapovalov vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Head-to-head: 2-1 Struff
At the Stuttgart Open, Denis Shapovalov will meet Jan-Lennard Struff for the third time this year. Shapovalov struggled throughout the clay court season, which is unsurprising, as his attack-minded game is far better suited to faster surfaces. As a result, he will surely be relieved to be back on the grass, where he picked up the first big win of his professional career, beating Kyle Edmund in Queens in 2017. He is also a former-champion at the Wimbledon juniors. Struff, meanwhile, is having the best season of his career and made the fourth round at the French Open.
His big-serve and huge groundstrokes should ensure the transition to grass is not too difficult for the German. These two players are very familiar with each other with this their third match of the year, as mentioned above. Struff won both matches on clay, but Shapovalov won the match on a hard court. This match will be tight, and will be dependent on a player’s ability to play first-strike tennis. While Struff got the better of Shapovalov on clay, on the grass Shapovalov’s sliding lefty serve should be the difference between these otherwise evenly-matched players.
Prediction: Shapovalov in three
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Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Philipp Kohlschreiber will be the home favorite at the Stuttgart Open as he battles Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. Kohlschreiber has plenty of experience playing on grass, with his only appearance in the last eight at a Major coming at Wimbledon in 2012, and his backhand slice is very effective on this surface. He has had a solid season thus far, although he certainly would have preferred to extend his stay in Paris past the second round.
Kecmanovic, in contrast, has only played a few matches on grass in his life, losing his only professional match last year in Wimbledon qualifying to Enrique Lopez-Perez, hardly a grass-courter himself with just two wins on the surface. Kecmanovic’s game relies on fairly heavy topspin and patiently spreading the court to draw errors from his opponent. It has served him well on the hard and the clay, but does not suit grass-court tennis at all well. Kohlschreiber shouldn’t have much difficulty in this one.
Prediction: Kohlschreiber in two
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Marton Fucsovics vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: first meeting
Marton Fucsovics will take on Jaume Munar in the first round at the Stuttgart Open. Fucsovics has had a solid season, but struggled on the clay, losing his past four matches. He had a hard time last year on the grass, not winning a match, but proved with a grass court Challenger title in 2017, and with solid performances on grass in the past, that he has the ability to play at a high-level at grass-court tournaments.
The Spaniard Munar has only played two matches on grass in his career, with one straight set loss in 2017, and a Wimbledon qualifying loss last year to clay-courter Andrea Collarini. His game does not suit the grass at all, with his tendency to play deep behind the baseline and his more defensive-minded approach. He sometimes can suffer from the lack of an aggressive mindset, which is vital on grass. Unfortunately for Munar, this match shouldn’t be close.
Prediction: Fucsovics in two
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