Play continues on Wednesday at the ATP 250 event in Pune, India. We will see the final first-round match and four second-round matches. We’re also here at LWOT to predict all of them for you. Who will move on at the Maharashtra Open? Let’s look at the matches.
ATP Pune Day 3 Predictions
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe vs Ricardas Berankis
This is the first meeting between the two, and it should be a pretty good one. Stebe is still trying to work his ranking back up after missing most of last year with injury, but I think he’s the better player, especially on a hard court. I’ll take the German by a hair.
Prediction: Stebe in 3
Salvatore Caruso vs Jiri Vesely
Caruso, of course, first really made a name for himself at least year’s French Open. He also reached the semifinals in Umag and broke through to the Top 100. He is still, however, far better on clay than hard courts, which doesn’t bode well against the once-promising Vesely.
Prediction: Vesely in 2
Sasikumar Mukund vs Taro Daniel
This final first-round match features an Indian wild card hoping to capitalize on a great opportunity. Daniel is beatable, but the Japanese man is also in good form, coming off a win at the Burnie Challenger. I don’t see this going well for the home crowd.
Prediction: Daniel in 2
Ilya Ivashka vs Stefano Travaglia
Ivashka’s ranking dropped out of the Top 100 last year as he couldn’t quite replicate his 2018 season. Travaglia is the better player of the pair right now, but the Italian is far more comfortable on clay. In their only meeting, Ivashka won in straight sets in qualifiers for the Rogers Cup in 2018. I think the Belorussian gets it done on the faster courts.
Prediction: Ivashka in 2
Yuichi Sugita vs Viktor Troicki
Don’t look now, but there are several Japanese men looking to become consistently solid players. Yoshihito Nishioka is one of them, but so is Yuichi Sugita. He just plays solid tennis and, while not the most powerful of baseliners, hits the ball consistently and cleanly, and can beat most lower players that way. He just blitzed through Thomas Fabbiano, and should have no trouble doing the same to Troicki–who lost a set to Sumit Nagal in his opening match.
Prediction: Sugita in 2
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