18-year-old Rudolf Molleker made headlines after stunning two-time former champion Leonardo Mayer in the first round. Molleker is now just one of two Germans left in the draw alongside second seed Alexander Zverev. But who will advance on day three as defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili and top seed and French Open finalist Dominic Thiem prepare to continue their German Open campaigns?
German Open day three predictions
Casper Ruud vs Andrey Rublev
Head-to-head: first meeting
Casper Ruud has played well on clay this season. The Norwegian young gun reached the semifinals in Sao Paolo and the quarters in Rio, before contesting a first tour-level final in Houston, losing to former-French Open junior champion Christian Garin. He also reached the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time at the French Open, where he beat former semifinalist Ernests Gulbis and Italian Matteo Berrettini, the champion at the Hungarian Open. Clearly then, this is a player at home on the red clay.
But he could have his work cut out against Andrey Rublev. The talented Russian was once one of the leading lights of the NextGen, winning the title in Umag and reaching the final at the inaugural NextGen ATP Finals in Milan, as well as the quarterfinals at the US Open, in 2017. That saw him break into the world’s top 40, but since then he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency, falling out of the top 100 as a result. But whilst Ruud is one of the hottest prospects on the tour, if Rublev hits as cleanly as he did against Garin, he should be able to overwhelm Ruud.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
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Jeremy Chardy vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: Chardy 2-5 Gasquet
Jeremy Chardy produced a statement win last week at the Swedish Open when he ousted the top-seeded Garin in straight-sets. The Frenchman repeated the trick on day one in Hamburg by beating another in-form player in the shape of his countryman Benoit Paire. He fought back against the Lyon Open champion after losing the first set to win in two hours and 37 minutes. He will next play Richard Gasquet in another all-French affair.
The 32-year-old has played very little tennis this year after missing the whole first quarter of 2019 due to hernia surgery. But he managed to see off the promising Indian youngster Sumit Nagal in the first round. That continued the good form he has shown in recent months, reaching the semifinals in Den Bosch prior to Wimbledon and the quarterfinals in Bastad last week. The bad news for Gasquet is that Chardy is also playing with confidence and will take some stopping.
Prediction: Chardy in 3
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Dominic Thiem vs Marton Fucsovics
Head-to-head: first meeting
Thiem recorded the 250th win of his career by beating Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas for the third time this year. The Austrian was playing in his first match since losing in an admittedly difficult first round at Wimbledon against Sam Querrey. Thiem is now 25-10 for the season having captured two titles this year (Indian Wells and Barcelona) as well as finishing as runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the French Open for the second straight year. But the top seed at the German Open be in for a testing encounter in the second round against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
The 27-year-old was dominant in his straight sets win over German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. Fucsovics is a very powerful player, who can dominate with his forehand. He also covers the court well, particularly on a clay court. But so too does Thiem. Of the two, it is the Austrian who possesses the bigger forehand and the better court coverage. As long as he executes, Thiem should not have too many problems in this one.
Prediction: Thiem in 2
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Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Juan Ignacio Londero
Head-to-head: Basilashvili 0-1 Londero
Nikoloz Basilashvili began his quest to retain his Hamburg crown with a straight-sets win over the Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien in just 67 minutes. The Georgian is currently enjoying a career-high ranking of #16, in large part thanks too his stellar 2018, in which he won two ATP 500 titles. But Juan Ignacio Londero scored a crushing win over the Georgian earlier this season in the first round at Roland Garros. Will that defeat still be playing on Basilashvili’s mind?
Londero made light work of Spanish lucky loser Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round. But for all Londero’s commendable successes on the clay this year, most notably his triumph at his hometown event the Cordoba Open, he has been vulnerable to being overpowered. And he is acing the Georgian at the wrong time. Basilashvili, when fresh, can do real damage and if he plays as well as he can, he should be able to bully the Argentine into submission.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 3
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