On Monday at the ATP Cologne Indoors, a number of seeds made early exits. That included the in-form Filip Krajinovic and Jan-Lennard Struff. Wildcard Mischa Zverev, meanwhile, claimed a rare win at the expense of John Millman. We here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate on day two, including Marin Cilic vs Ricardas Berankis. But will there be more shock results?
ATP Cologne Indoors Day Two Predictions
Kyle Edmund vs Lloyd Harris
Head-to-head: Edmund 2-0 Harris
Did you know both Kyle Edmund and Lloyd Harris were born in South Africa? Edmund’s allegiance may be to Great Britain, but the Yorkshireman was born in Johannesburg. He has had the better professional career so far, having played 172 more matches at Tour-level than Harris, although both are hovering around the 50% winning rate and Harris has made impressive strides in adapting to tennis at the highest-level.
Both have enjoyed some impressive runs in 2020, with Harris reaching the final in Adelaide as a qualifier, whilst Edmund won the New York Open. Speaking of qualifying, Harris already has two matches under his belt at the ATP Cologne Indoors, having beaten Peter Gojowczyk and Marcos Giron to reach the main draw. That could give him a decisive advantage over Edmund, who has not played competitively in almost a month.
Prediction: Harris in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: Ruusuvuori 1-0 Davidovich Fokina
This battle between up-and-coming talents may well be the best match of the day at the ATP Cologne Indoors. After (unsurprisingly) struggling on clay, Emil Ruusuvuori could well do some damage during this improvised indoor swing. For his part, Davidovich Fokina is no slouch on hard courts, as his excellent run to the last 16 at the US Open illustrated. But the Finn had the better of Davidovich Fokina in their only previous meeting, winning 7-5 6-2 at the Mallorca Challenger last year. Expect him to outgun the Spaniard again.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Fernando Verdasco vs Andy Murray
Head-to-head: Murray 13-4 Verdasco
Their previous meetings probably don’t have much relevance here, with both men arriving in Cologne in search of wins. Andy Murray has, by a distance, had the best of this rivalry, winning 13 of their previous 17 meetings. And half of Verdasco’s wins came in 2018, shortly after Murray’s first, and largely unsuccessful, hip surgery. Since having his entire hip resurfaced, Murray has looked considerably more impressive, winning an ATP title last season in Antwerp, even if he remains a shadow of the player he once was.
But Murray’s form was largely indifferent in New York and Paris, whilst Verdasco has been alarmingly poor of late. Indeed, he has not won a match since the Australian Open, and he skipped the US Open before being ruled out of Roland Garros after testing positive for Covid-19, which may have been a false positive. Verdasco is certainly convinced of that and has stated that he intends to sue the French Tennis Federation. He might be better served focusing on his tennis. Murray can be overwhelmed by big hitters, but it is hard to see Verdasco finding the court often enough to win this match.
Prediction: Murray in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
