For years, the Hamburg European Open has been a tournament for first time success. That was the case last year as Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili claimed a surprise maiden ATP title at the event. This year the same scenario could unfold as a trio of Top 10 ATP players, led by World No.4 Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, and reigning Monte Carlo champion Fabio Fognini headline the 2019 edition.
We breakdown Day 1 matches featuring two seeded players and provide predictions.
ATP Hamburg European Open Day 1 Predictions
Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Marton Fucsovics
Head-To-Head: Kohlschreiber 1-0 Fucsovics
German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber will open proceedings against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics. The 35-year-old has won six of his eight career singles titles on the dirt, but none of them in Hamburg. Kohlschreiber had the unfortunate match-up as he came up against World No.1 Novak Djokovic for the second time in his career in the first round of Wimbledon. (He lost in 2015 as well.)
His loss to the Serb ensured he ended the grass-court season winless having also lost opening matches in Stuttgart and Halle. He is now 15-16 for the season and he will seek for some sort of renaissance as he gears up for the upcoming hard court season. Fucsovics can be an awkward first round especially when you consider he is no slouch on clay having won his sole title on tour on the dirt last year.
However, the Hungarian’s form has fluctuated this season. After reaching a career-high ranking of No.31 in February, he has tumbled down to No.49 courtesy of his unsuccessful title defense in Geneva. Will he be able to keep Kohlschreiber at bay in this one? I highly doubt it. Still at the age of 35, Kohlschreiber is still as dangerous as ever. Despite a subpar season he still popped up with his best win of the year against Novak Djokovic in Indian Wellls and he pushed the Serb in Monte Carlo before narrowly losing in three sets. Expect the German to edge Fuscovics in a tight affair.
Prediction: Kohlschreiber in 3
Jeremy Chardy vs Benoit Paire
Head-To-Head: First meeting
Jeremy Chardy is coming to Hamburg on the back of a decent run to the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open, where he knocked out the much-fancied Chilean Cristian Garin en route. It will be an all-French affair as Chardy plays Benoite Paire in the first round in Hamburg.
Paire has a seeding this week as a result of a consistent run of results in the last few months of the season catapulting in his rise up the rankings. He has compiled an excellent clay-court campaign, winning titles in Morocco and Lyon and reaching the fourth round of the French Open. The 30-year-old should be wary though of the threat and confidence Chardy is in at the moment. Given that Paire will make the difficult transition from grass to clay, he could come unstuck.
Prediction: Chardy in 3
Cristian Garin vs Andrey Rublev
Head-To-Head: Garin 0-1 Rublev
Two-time ATP title winner Cristian Garin had an underwhelming week in Bastad as he lost in the second round to Jeremy Chardy. Since capturing the BMW Open at the start of May, he is currently in the midst of a lengthy hangover. A quarterfinal showing in Den Bosch has been a scant consolation of what has been a poor run of form for the talented Chilean. Andrey Rublev has not really rediscovered his best form since returning from a back-injury that forced him to miss three months of his 2018 season. The Russian though will be buoyed by his recent success over Garin having beaten the Chilean at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago. The 21-year-old should get his second win over the eighth seed in as many days.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Leonardo Mayer vs Rudolf Molleker
Head-To-Head: First meeting on tour (1-0 Molleker in Qualifying)
Leonardo Mayer has won his two career ATP singles titles on the clay courts of Hamburg and achieved a runner-up finish at last year’s event. Will he able to conjure up a hatrick of titles in a week’s time? The odds are certainly stacked against him this time as he will have to get through a packed field of established clay court players. The Argentine though will fancy his chances in his opener when he plays the inexperienced wild card Rudolf Molleker. The German teenager is making third appearance in Hamburg and is undoubtedly one of the finest teenagers on tour. Molleker beat Spaniard David Ferrer last year, a further reminder of what a fantastic prospect he is and the fantastic qualities he possesses on the court. The 18-year-old will meet Mayer in the main draw for the first time, but he actually beat the former champion at the same event in the second round of qualifying in 2017 (the same year Mayer won the tournament as a lucky loser). I am going for the upset in this one as Molleker is quite capable of getting a result in front of his home crowd.
Prediction: Molleker in 2
