The action in North-Rhine-Westphalia is set to continue this week, with the ATP Cologne Championships following straight on from the ATP Cologne Indoors, won by Alexander Zverev on Sunday. The field may have been weakened by some late withdrawals, but there should still be plenty of entertaining tennis on day one and, as ever, we here at LWOS tennis department will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate including Marin Cilic vs Steve Johnson. But who will reach the second round?
ATP Cologne Championships Day One Predictions
Jordan Thompson vs Gilles Simon
Head-to-head: first meeting
Somewhat surprisingly, this will be the first meeting between Jordan Thompson and Gilles Simon, both of whom are well-established professionals, although Thompson has some way still to go to match the Frenchman’s achievements. That said, for all his former glories, it has been a lean stretch for the veteran Simon, who has won just eight matches so far in 2020. But he did play some good tennis last week in Cologne.
In the first round, he thrashed Marton Fucsovics, aided by some errant play from the Hungarian, before performing creditably in a 6-7 4-6 defeat at the hands of Roberto Bautista Agut. Thompson, in contrast, was well-beaten by Dennis Novak in his opener in Cologne, appearing to have struggled to hit through the Austrian in the slow conditions at Cologne’s Lanxess Arena. That does not bode well for his chances against Simon, who remains one of the best defenders in the men’s game.
Prediction: Simon in 2
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Alexei Popyrin vs Adrian Mannarino
Head-to-head: Mannarino 1-0 Popyrin
This promises to be an entertaining clash. Adrian Mannarino has endured a season to forget so far, winning just four matches, and he will surely have been disappointed by his 3-6 6-7 loss to Egor Gerasimov in the first round in St Petersburg. But he faces in Alexei Popyrin who has also struggled this season. The Australian threatened to breakthrough last season, reaching the third round in both Melbourne and New York, but he has largely failed to live up to that promise in 2020.
That said, he has found some form in recent weeks. He arrived at the ATP Cologne Championships fresh from reaching the semifinals at the Parma Challenger and he backed that solid showing with two battling wins in the qualifying in Cologne. He should be acclimatised to the conditions in Cologne and full of confidence. The Frenchman did win their only previous match, which came in Metz, by the unusual scoreline of 6-0 6-7 6-0, but expect the power of Popyrin to prove the difference here.
Prediction: Popyrin in 3
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Egor Gerasimov vs Daniel Altmaier
Head-to-head: first meeting
The next few weeks look set to provide Daniel Altmaier with an interesting challenge. There is no doubt that his run to the fourth round at Roland Garros was hugely impressive, but he must now prove that it was more than a flash in the pan and that he can win at ATP-level away from the clay. His first attempt to do so in Cologne last week did not go to plan as he lost his opener to Henri Laaksonen, despite winning the first set.
He will now attempt to get the better of lucky loser Gerasimov, who fell in the final round of qualifying to Popyrin. That continued a run of poor form from the Belarusian, who has not won a match in the main draw at a tour-level event since upsetting Dusan Lajovic in the first round at the US Open. But, more often than not, lucky losers play with real freedom after being given a second chance. In what otherwise looks likely to be a close contest, that could give Gerasimov the decisive edge.
Prediction: Gerasimov in 3
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