Day three at the ATP Hamburg Open should feature plenty of entertaining tennis. A number of star names are set to be in action in Germany and we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for four of the matches on the slate on day three in Hamburg. But who will advance?
ATP Hamburg Open Day Three Predictions
Cristian Garin vs Yannick Hanfmann
Head-to-head: first meeting
Cristian Garin made a real statement of intent in the first round at the ATP Hamburg Open, demolishing Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-0 6-3, claiming what was just his second win since the season resumed in August. The Chilean will now surely be hoping that his dominant win will serve as a springboard, after the pandemic-enforced pause brought the momentum he had developed by winning in Cordoba and Rio during the Golden Swing to a halt.
His slow restart may also be explained by his struggles to adapt on hard courts, which continued with early defeats to Aljaz Bedene at the Cincinnati Masters and Mikhail Kukushkin at the US Open. But his first-round loss in Rome was surely a concern, even if it did come at the hands of an in-form Borna Coric. Against Nishikori, however, Garin looked to be back to something approaching his best, a level he may well need to maintain up against the dangerous Yannick Hanfmann.
The German may be ranked outside the top 100, but he is in excellent form having arrived in Hamburg fresh from reaching his second tour-level final in Kitzbuhel and he was inspired in dismissing Gael Monfils in straight-sets in his opener in Germany. His serve was particularly potent against the Frenchman, with Hanfmann dropping just three points behind his first delivery. If he can serve that well against Garin, expect him to prove too strong for the Chilean.
Prediction: Hanfmann in 3
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Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Dan Evans
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 1-0 Evans
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ defeat to Jannik Sinner in Rome in what was his first match since his catastrophic collapse at the US Open against Coric, which saw him squander six match points, will not have improved his mood. The Greek appeared to still be struggling with that disappointment in Rome, but he will have no chance to dwell on it further at the ATP Hamburg Open, where he is set to open his campaign with a potentially tough test up against Dan Evans.
Fortunately for the Greek, Evans’ early season form has faded since the restart. The British #1 failed to make much of an impact in New York, with Evans going 2-2, before he lost in the first round at the Italian Open to Hubert Hurkacz in three sets. He also lost his only previous meeting with Tsitsipas, which came on the fast hard courts in Dubai. On the slower European clay, a surface Evans has never excelled on, this looks likely to be a comfortable afternoon for the second seed.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
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Andrey Rublev vs Tommy Paul
Head-to-head: Rublev 1-0 Paul
Andrey Rublev brought Tennys Sandgren’s Hamburg campaign to a swift end in the first round, dismissing the American for the loss of only six games. It was a dominant display from start to finish from Rublev, who did not face a single break point and won 26 of 29 points behind his first serve. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Russian considered the 6-3 6-3 win to be his best clay-court performance of the season, although it should be noted it was only his third match on the surface in 2020.
Regardless, Rublev clearly enjoys the conditions at the ATP Hamburg Open, where he reached the final last season with that run serving as the catalyst for a revival which has taken him to inside the world’s top 20. He will head into his second-round clash with the qualifier Tommy Paul as the heavy favourite as a result. But the American is enjoying a fine week in Germany, having picked up qualifying wins over Joao Sousa and Alexander Bublik to secure his place in the main draw.
He then withstood 14 aces from the racquet of former-world #5 Kevin Anderson to record a 6-4 0-6 6-4 win. Paul managed to punish the South African’s second serve at the vital moments, breaking once in the first and third sets to seal victory. However, it is hard to see him getting the better of Rublev. The Russian, who impressed in reaching the US Open quarterfinals, will mark a real step up in quality for Paul and should be able to hit through the American.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
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Roberto Bautista Agut vs Dominik Koepfer
Head-to-head: first meeting
Roberto Bautista Agut would normally have been frustrated to miss an event as prestigious as the Italian Open, particularly in a season as disjointed as 2020. But the Spaniard, who was celebrating the birth of his first child, will surely have had no complaints about missing out on the action in Rome. Nonetheless, he appeared determined to make up for lost time in the first round at the ATP Hamburg Open, ending Nikoloz Basilashvili’s two-year reign at the tournament with a superb straight-sets win.
But he may not have things all his own way against the in-form Dominik Koepfer. The German arrived at the Italian Open having never played in the main draw at a Masters 1000, but after battling through the qualifying he played like a man possessed. Koepfer recorded wins over Alex de Minaur, Gael Monfils and Italian young gun Lorenzo Musetti to reach the last eight, where he was the only man to take a set off eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Back in his native Germany, Koepfer got the better of the struggling Yoshihito Nishioka, finishing strongly to complete a 7-6 4-6 6-1 win after two-and-a-half hours on court. However, that match will have surely taken a significant toll on his energy reserves, which does not bode well for his chances up against Bautista Agut. Koepfer has thrived whilst an underdog, but the tenacious and experienced Bautista Agut should be able to wear him down in the end.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2
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