The ATP ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament continues on Day 2 with second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas opening his campaign in Rotterdam. The Greek will face Hubert Hurkacz in a blockbuster clash between two very promising young talents. One of the biggest stars of January, Andrey Rublev, will also be back to the tennis tour. We also have predictions for another three Tuesday matches.
ATP Rotterdam Day 2 Predictions
Alexander Bublik vs Gregoire Barrere
Head-to-head: 1-1
Alexander Bublik has recently said on court that he considers tennis to be the worst sport and doesn’t really like it. That sort of shows in his playstyle. The Kazakh likes looking for crazy tactics like underarm serves or unnecessary tweeners. Although he’s obviously very talented, that tends to bring him down.
Gregoire Barrere has qualified for the event with great wins over Botic Van De Zandschulp and Emil Ruusuvuori. Perhaps the most shocking stat is him surviving all 18 break points faced so far. If Barrere can keep up that insane big points performance, together with the home crowd support that should be enough to withstand Bublik’s big serve and his crazy antics.
Prediction: Barrere in 3
Andrey Rublev vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Head-to-head: Basilashvili 2-1
Although it’s Nikoloz Basilashvili who won two of their three meetings last year, the favorite coming into this clash is Andrey Rublev. The Russian has enjoyed a stellar start to the season with back to back titles at Doha and Adelaide. He was also brilliant at the Australian Open, going out Alexander Zverev in the fourth round.
Not many players hit the ball quite as hard as Basilashvili and it shows in how erratic his game is. While the Georgian can certainly be a tough opponent, Rublev was just on another level in January. It won’t be easy to overpower his brilliant forehand and the Russian’s game has a lot more variety. The improvements Rublev made, especially his point construction, will allow him to survive Basilashvili’s power.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
Filip Krajinovic vs Tallon Griekspoor
Head-to-head: First meeting
Playing against the crowd is always a tough ask and Tallon Griekspoor does have a history of big upsets in Rotterdam. The 23-year-old has defeated the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Karen Khachanov over the past two editions of this event. Coming back as a wildcard again, he won’t be treated as an outsider this time around.
But nevertheless, Filip Krajinovic should have too much for the young Dutchman. The Serbian is coming of a great week in Montpellier and clearly feels very well on this surface. Krajinovic’s game is based on taking time away from his opponent and trying to take the balls inside the baseline, on the rise. This unique ability will see him through.
Prediction: Krajinovic in 2
Hubert Hurkacz vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 5-1
They’ve already met six times in the past year and a half but I’m sure no one’s going to complain. Hubert Hurkacz had an ecstatic start to the year and reaching only the second round at the Australian Open had to feel disappointing. The Pole will be playing his first match since the January Grand Slam.
Stefanos Tsitsipas managed to get round further at Melbourne, but as the sixth seed he was also expected to achieve more. The Greek will have a good chance to rebound in this blockbuster first round clash. He’s got a commanding head-to-head lead and a much more complete game than Hurkacz. The Pole often struggles with finding the right balance between offense and defense and Tsitsipas will punish that.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
