There will be no shortage of tennis on day two at the Swiss Indoors with seven singles matches on the slate and three of the ATP’s top ten in action. We here at LWOT are offering predictions for all seven matches. But who will book their place in the second round in Basel?
Swiss Indoors Day Two Predictions
Radu Albot vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Radu Albot achieved a major milestone in his career earlier this year when he became the first Moldovan player to win an ATP singles title following his success at the Delray Beach Open. That was the second tour-level triumph of his career after he won the doubles title at the Istanbul Open alongside Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic back in 2015. But both men will have to put their friendship aside when they meet in the first round at the Swiss Indoors.
The Serbian also enjoyed a memorable season in which he won his maiden ATP title on the clay in Umag and finished runner-up at the Monte Carlo Masters. However, the man from Belgrade has fared poor on hard courts this year, going 9-14. Albot, in contrast, has compiled a solid 20-15 record on the surface. So whilst both players are coming towards the end of career-best seasons, on a hard court the edge has to be given to Albot.
Prediction: Albot in 3
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Roberto Bautista Agut vs Marius Copil
Head-to-head: Bautista Agut 2-0 Copil
Roberto Bautista Agut has, for the most part, had an excellent season, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the last four at Wimbledon, as well as winning the ninth title of his career in Doha. But although he did make back-to-back quarterfinals in Montreal and Cincinnati, his form has rather fallen away since his run at the All England Club, which has all but cost him the chance to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
And he could be in for a tough test against 2018 Swiss Indoors runner-up Marius Copil. The Romanian remains inconsistent, but his thunderous serve ensures he is always a danger indoors and he arrives in Basel in good form after coming through the qualifying to reach the quarterfinals in Antwerp, where he gave eventual champion Andy Murray a run for his money. But Bautista Agut’s forehand gives the Spaniard a weapon that not even Copil’s serve can match, which should prove the difference.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2
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Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Albert Ramos Vinolas
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 1-0 Ramos Vinolas
World #7 Stefanos Tsitsipas seems to have found his groove after a difficult summer during which he suffered first-round exits at Wimbledon and in Montreal, Cincinnati and New York. The Greek later confessed that his defeat to Andrey Rublev at the US Open was something of a blessing in disguise as it granted him the chance to refresh. His attacking style of tennis brought him success in Asia, where he finished as runner-up at the China Open, before beating world #1 Novak Djokovic in Shanghai en route to the semifinals.
Those runs helped him clinch his maiden appearance at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals and he will be hoping to carry that momentum into the final weeks of the season. Standing between him and place in the second round at the Swiss Indoors is the Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas. The left-hander has been in good form recently and impressed in making the semifinals in Zhuhai. But on the quick courts in Basel he seems destined to struggle against the power and accuracy of Tsitsipas.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
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