Day four at the Vienna Open will see the conclusion of the second round with eight players set to battle for a place in the quarterfinals in the Austrian capital. With less than a month of the season left, every win is vital. But who will book their place in the last eight and who will fall to defeat?
Vienna Open Day 4 Predictions
Andrey Rublev vs Hyeon Chung
Head-to-head: Chung 3-0 Rublev
Hyeon Chung impressed in his first round victory over former-Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, winning 6-4 7-5. Not for the first time, the Korean’s return was at the forefront of his success. He was able to combine aggressive returning with some excellent court coverage to frustrate the big Canadian and will need to do more of the same against Andrey Rublev, who can summon real firepower off the ground.
Chung has had much the better of this rivalry in the past, but they have not played since 2017. And it is the Russian who is the form man at the moment. After enjoying a fruitful spell in North America and Asia, Rublev last week claimed his first title in two years at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and will surely be full of confidence as a result. That said, he had to work hard to get past Alexander Bublik in his opener in Vienna. And if Chung is able to frustrate him, he may well spray too many unforced errors. That has cost him against Chung in the past.
Prediction: Chung in 3
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Jannik Sinner vs Gael Monfils
Head-to-head: Sinner 1-0 Monfils
Jannik Sinner has been in excellent form of late. The Italian, still just 18-years-old, reached his first tour-level semifinal in his last outing at the European Open and he carried that level over into his first-round clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber in Vienna, beating the German veteran in straight sets. And after having thrashed his next opponent, Gael Monfils, just last week in Antwerp, he will surely have high hopes of at least reaching the quarterfinals.
Whilst Monfils got back to winning ways in the first round at the Vienna Open, he was given a real test by the Austrian Dennis Novak, before eventually prevailing a 2-6 7-5 6-3 winner. The Frenchman, for whom consistently staying healthy has long proven difficult, looked to be struggling with injury towards the latter stages of the match. He will at least be ready for Sinner this time, but if he is carrying an injury, expect the Italian young gun to capitalise.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
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Diego Schwartzman vs Sam Querrey
Head-to-head: Schwartzman 2-2 Querrey
This pair have met four times so far in their careers and there has been nothing to separate them so far, which suggests that a close match could be in the offing at the Vienna Open. Diego Schwartzman, after a good run to the quarterfinals at the US Open, failed to maintain that momentum during the Asian swing. Indeed, he has failed to record consecutive victories since New York. But he did play well to beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-4 in the first round.
Querrey, meanwhile, has had a mixed season. The high point for the American was surely reaching a third Wimbledon quarterfinal. However, he followed that with a first-round defeat at his home Slam in New York. But he did score some good wins in Asia, reaching the quarterfinals in Beijing, a feat he repeated in Stockholm last week. He also beat Schwartzman in similarly quick conditions in Shanghai. If he serves well once again, he should have the edge once again.
Prediction: Querrey in 3
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Dominic Thiem vs Fernando Verdasco
Head-to-head: Verdasco 4-0 Thiem
Fernando Verdasco seems to enjoy playing Dominic Thiem, having beaten the Austrian in all four of their previous encounters. It’s not entirely hard to see why. His powerful hitting allows him to keep Thiem on the backfoot and his ability to inject topspin into his lefty cross-court forehand has caused Thiem real problems on his backhand side in the past. But Verdasco’s form is a cause for concern. He has won just three of his last seven matches, although he did impress against Hamburg Open champion Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, winning 4-6 6-2 6-1.
But one suspects that Thiem will put up rather sterner opposition. He has enjoyed a career-best year on hard courts, winning titles in Indian Wells and Beijing, and handled a tough first-round test in the form of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga well, picking up a 6-4 7-6 win over the Frenchman. He will also be playing in his own backyard, with the crowd firmly behind him. This looks like the perfect opportunity, then, for the Austrian to gain some revenge on Verdasco.
Prediction: Thiem in 3
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