The tennis begins to ramp up on the second day of play at the ATP Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune, India. There is a full day of play scheduled across the tournament’s three main courts. Two of the draw’s seeded players are in action today in what will be a start to a very open draw. Five of the matches are previewed, with three of them being unique first time matchups between the two opponents.
ATP Pune Day 2 Predictions
Arjun Kadhe vs Jiri Vesely
Head to head: first meeting
Kadhe received a wild card into the tournament as an Indian player, though his ranking sits outside the top 600. He struggled last season, and it has been a full year since he last made it past the second round at a Challenger level tournament or higher. Vesely is a veteran of the tour and though he has been mostly restricted to challengers due to his ranking, he has held his own and produced strong results in 2019 on the circuit. Vesely should win comfortably to reach the second round.
Prediction: Vesely in 2
Prajnesh Gunneswaran vs Yannick Maden
Head to head: 1-0 Maden
This match is sure to be close, with the two players separated by just two spots in the rankings. Maden won their sole matchup, but that was back in 2016. Gunneswaran has been on an encouraging streak, winning his first round match in the last seven tournaments he has entered including qualifying. Both Indian players lost yesterday, so the crowd will be behind him to will him to victory.
Prediction: Gunneswaran in 2
Paolo Lorenzi vs Egor Gerasimov
Head to head: first meeting
At 38, Lorenzi is one of the oldest players still on tour. Unfortunately that age has shown with his poor run of form over the last few months. Gerasimov put together some solid results, and he was able to spend most of his time at the ATP tour level. Gerasimov is by far most comfortable on hard courts, while Lorenzi plays his best on clay, and that will be the main decider of this match.
Prediction: Gerasimov in 2
Ilya Ivashka vs Evgeny Donskoy
Head to head: 2-1 Donskoy
This should be the match of the day from a competitive perspective. Both players excel on hard courts and showed solid results on the challenger circuit in late 2019. Ivashka will come in with confidence after qualifying for the Australian Open with a difficult draw and taking Kevin Anderson to a fifth set tiebreak. Donskoy has a big serve and game, but lack of consistency has hurt him over the years. Ivashka is younger and shows more promise and will win a close match.
Prediction: Ivashka in 3
Peter Gojowczyk vs James Duckworth
Head to head: first meeting
Though Duckworth is the seeded player, the two players rankings are not significantly different, at #94 and #120. Duckworth is a bit more comfortable on hard, though neither player significantly favors a particular surface. The Australian is a talented player who has been in poor form recently, but he did win the Challenger in Pune just a few months ago. Duckworth will be glad to return and will look to capture another title here.
Prediction: Duckworth in 3
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Disagree with our ATP Pune Day 2 Predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
