Day 2 of the Rogers Cup is here! After an exciting first day in Montreal, players will continue to battle on the Rogers Cup hard courts. Who will advance and who will fall short? Read on to find out! We also have predictions for more Day 2 ATP Montreal matches.
ATP Montreal Rogers Cup Day 2 Predictions
Hubert Hurkacz vs Taylor Fritz
Head to Head: 1-0 Fritz
Hubert Hurkacz battles Taylor Fritz in the first round of Montreal. Hurkacz has gone 1-1 since Wimbledon, beating Donald Young and then losing to John Isner in Washington. Fritz has been red hot since Wimbledon, making the final of both Atlanta and Los Cabos. However, in both championship matches, Fritz lost in straight sets.
Fritz leads the head to head 1-0, winning their only meeting on the grass in Eastbourne this season. Both players will be looking to take control of the point early and utilize first-strike tennis. Fritz is in the much better form and has been serving huge and hitting his forehand really well in recent matches. While fatigue from two long weeks in a row might start to take its toll, Fritz will gut this match out.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Alex de Minaur vs Dan Evans
Head to Head: 1-0 De Minaur
Alex de Minaur and Dan Evans duel in the first round of the Rogers Cup. De Minaur won his second ATP Tour title in Atlanta before losing in his first match in Washington to Peter Gojowczyk. Evans made the quarterfinals of Atlanta, and while he lost early in Washington, he made it through qualifying in Montreal without dropping a set.
De Minaur leads the head to head 1-0, winning a grass court Challenger final over Evans last season. Evans will be looking to effectively use his backhand slice, while De Minaur will look to try to counterpunch. There’s not much between these two players, so it’s difficult to pick a winner. Evans can get volatile on court, so it’s certainly possible that De Minaur’s speed and counterpunching ability will start to agitate Evans. De Minaur squeaks this match out.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3
John Millman vs Feliciano Lopez
Head to Head: never played
John Millman takes on Feliciano Lopez in the first round of the Rogers Cup. Millman is into the main draw as a lucky loser after falling in a huge battle to Kwon in Montreal qualifying. Millman is known for his ability to hang in rallies and fighting back. Lopez qualified for Montreal, but got lucky in the sense that Ivo Karlovic pulled out of the final qualifying round. However, in the first round, he had an impressive straight sets win over Gregoire Barrere.
These two have never played before. This match will come down to whether Lopez is able to hit through Millman’s defenses. On a hot day in Montreal, Millman will be a huge test for Lopez’s fitness, as he is 37 years old. While Millman is a lucky loser, I think that this is a pretty good matchup for him. He should be able to fight off a lot of Lopez’s shots and wear the Spaniard down. Millman moves on.
Prediction: Millman in 3
An earlier version of this article contained a prediction for Matteo Berrettini vs Feliciano Lopez. However, Berrettini withdrew before the match and was replaced by John Millman.
Guido Pella vs David Goffin
Head to Head: 3-0 Goffin
Guido Pella takes on David Goffin in the first round of the Rogers Cup. Pella reached the semifinals of Los Cabos last week before losing to eventual champion Diego Schwartzman in three sets. David Goffin lost in his first match in Washington to Yoshihito Nishioka in a third set tiebreak.
Goffin leads the head to head 3-0, including a 2-0 lead on hard courts. However, one of those meetings was a five-setter at the US Open, with Goffin winning 6-3 in the fifth after nearly 4.5 hours. Both players will hang in points and wait for their opportunity to strike and neither have particularly big games. Pella is not as comfortable on hard courts as Goffin and this was apparent in Los Cabos, despite Pella picking up a couple wins. I look for Goffin to goad Pella into going too big on his groundstrokes and bounce back from his early defeat in Washington. Goffin wins.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
Disagree with our ATP Montreal Rogers Cup Day 2 Predictions? As always, feel free to leave thoughts in the comments.
