The Winston-Salem Open, the last ATP tournament before the final Major of the season, kicks off in earnest on Monday, with a number of star names set to join the action, including Andy Murray and top seed Benoit Paire. But who will advance on day two in North Carolina?
Winston-Salem Day Two Predictions
Steve Johnson vs Corentin Moutet
Head-to-head: first meeting
It has been a difficult season for Steve Johnson who now finds himself on the verge of dropping outside the world’s top 80 having once been ranked as high as #21. He did win the Aptos Challenger in California in the second week of August, beating Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the final, but then lost to Tallon Griekspoor in the first round of the Vancouver Open. At tour-level, he has just ten wins this year, the most recent of which came at Wimbledon, where he reached the third round.
The 20-year-old Moutet, in contrast, has enjoyed something of a breakthrough year, though he has just four ATP wins to his name this season. This will also be his first hard-court match of the summer with the Frenchman having been out of action since the Swiss Open in late July. That could cause him problems against Johnson, whose big serve and forehand work well on hard courts. If Johnson can bring that forehand into play regularly enough, expect him to claim the win at the Winston-Salem Open.
Prediction: Johnson in 3
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Marco Cecchinato vs Alexander Bublik
Head-to-head: first meeting
2018 French Open semifinalist Marco Cecchinato has struggled to back up his clay-court exploits of last season this year, though he did win the Argentina Open in February. Nor has he ever really found his feet away from the clay. As a result, he comes into the Winston-Salem Open in terrible form, having not won a match since the Italian Open in May. Since then he has lost nine matches. The enigmatic Alexander Bublik has rather failed to kick on since his run to the final in Newport. But his big serve and deft touch should make him too hot to handle for the struggling Italian.
Prediction: Bublik in 2
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Alexei Popyrin vs Thiago Monteiro
Head-to-head: first meeting
Alexei Popyrin may not quite have had a breakthrough result this season, but the young Australian has been making steady progress nonetheless, picking up eight wins at tour-level and plenty of others in qualifying and at Challenger-level. It is not hard to see why, with his big serve and powerful groundstrokes suggesting that he has all the tools he will need for a successful career on tour, though he can struggle to rein in his power at times.
Thiago Monteiro cannot match Popyrin for power, but the Brazilian is a fine competitor, albeit one who can struggle away from his preferred clay. Both men will look to use their forehands to dominate this encounter and both hit a topspin-heavy ball. But Popyrin’s is the more penetrating of the two and he also seems more comfortable playing on the front foot than Monteiro. Expect the young Australian to chalk up another win at the Winston-Salem Open.
Prediction: Popyrin in 3
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Andy Murray vs Tennys Sandgren
Head-to-head: first meeting
Former-world #1 Murray made his long-awaited return to singles after surgery on a possibly career-ending hip injury in a first-round defeat to Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati. Though the Briton lost in straight-sets, there were positives to take from that loss, not least the fact that Gasquet, himself a one-time world #7, was in inspired form in Ohio and went on to reach the semifinals. Whilst Murray may be a long way short of the player he once was, he can still play.
And he may well like his chances up against the aptly named Tennys Sandgren. Sandgren is a smooth player with an accurate serve and a useful forehand, but he may not do much to make Murray particularly uncomfortable and he will not hit Murray off the court. If Murray is able to return well and defend his second serve, he should be able to outlast Sandgren, far from one of the fittest on tour, off the ground, though it is unlikely to be entirely straightforward for the Scot.
Prediction: Murray in 3
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