Day 2 of the Rogers Cup is here! After an exciting first day of action, play continues in Montreal. Who will rise to the occasion and who will fall in the first summer hard court Masters 1000 event? Read on to find out! We also have predictions for more Day 2 Montreal matches.
ATP Montreal Rogers Cup Day 2 Predictions
Borna Coric vs Peter Gojowczyk
Head to Head: never played
Borna Coric battles Peter Gojowczyk for a spot in the second round of Montreal. Coric has only played one match since Halle, losing to Salvatore Caruso on the clay in Umag. His form is in question right now, but at his best, he’s extremely difficult to break down on hard courts. After losing in Atlanta qualifying, Gojowczyk made the semifinals of Washington as a lucky loser. That was Gojowczyk’s best result in quite some time.
These two have never played before. Coric will be looking to counterpunch and force a bunch of errors from Gojowczyk. Gojowczyk hits a very flat ball and will be trying to attack the Coric defenses. Much like Medvedev did to Gojowczyk in the Washington semifinals, look for Coric to get a bunch of balls in play and force Gojowczyk to really press to win points. Coric moves on.
Prediction: Coric in 2
Marin Cilic vs Bradley Klahn
Head to Head: never played
Marin Cilic takes on Bradley Klahn in the first round of the Rogers Cup. Cilic won a couple rounds in Washington last week, including an impressive win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Cilic seems to be improving his form based on how he looked in Washington. Klahn won a hard court Challenger earlier this summer, but often struggles to compete at the ATP Tour level. Klahn did not drop a set in qualifying, however, beating Viktor Troicki and Steven Diez in straight sets.
These two have never played before. Both players are reliant on big serves and first-strike tennis. Klahn will try to use his lefty game to his advantage. However, Cilic just plays power tennis at a much higher level than Klahn. Klahn will have to play lower-margin tennis to beat Cilic, and I don’t think he will be able to do that successfully. Cilic wins.
Prediction: Cilic in 2
Marco Cecchinato vs Diego Schwartzman
Head to Head: 2-1 Schwartzman
Marco Cecchinato and Diego Schwartzman duel in the first round of Montreal. Cecchinato has lost eight matches in a row and 10 of 11 matches. He has not won a hard court match since Doha in January. Schwartzman just won an ATP Tour title on the hard courts of Los Cabos. He only lost one set all week on his way to winning his first ATP Tour title on hard courts.
Schwartzman leads the head to head 2-1 and won their latest match in Madrid. Cecchinato, a player who puts a heavy emphasis on topspin, is not great on hard courts to begin with, and his recent form doesn’t make me very confident in his chances to win this match. Schwartzman, on the other hand, is clearly playing very good tennis and will be at ease when he takes the court in Montreal. Schwartzman advances.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 2
Nick Kyrgios vs Kyle Edmund
Head to Head: 2-0 Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios and Kyle Edmund collide in the first round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. The Australian won Washington last week, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals and Daniil Medvedev in the final. Kyrgios served at an extremely high level and utilized an all-court game to perplex his opponents. Edmund won a couple matches last week in Washington and will be looking to continue to gain form in Montreal.
Kyrgios leads the head to head 2-0, with both matches occurring on grass. This will be a serve-dominant match. Edmund will be looking to get balls onto his forehand, while Kyrgios will look to break down the Edmund backhand. While Kyrgios’ motivation to win this week might not be very high, he is clearly the better player when at his best, and is in form. Kyrgios wins, but he might not look engaged the entire match.
Prediction: Kyrgios in 3
Main Photo from Getty
Disagree with our ATP Montreal Rogers Cup predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
