Thursday at the 2020 ATP Antwerp European Open will feature the remaining second-round matches. Top-seeded David Goffin will open his campaign against Marcos Giron, while 3rd seed Karen Khachanov is bound to check if home player Zizou Bergs’ sensational upset over Albert Ramos-Vinolas was a fluke or not. Who do you think will make the quarterfinals?
ATP Antwerp Day 4 Predictions
Taylor Fritz vs Lloyd Harris
Head-to-head: Fritz 1-0
It was a great performance from Taylor Fritz to beat his compatriot, Reilly Opelka, in the opening round. He managed to withstand 19 aces from his opponent (17 in the first set) and never faced a break point in a 7-6 6-1 win. He beat Lloyd Harris easily at Cincinnati this year but the South African has really found some amazing form in this indoor campaign. Last week at Cologne, he went all the way from the qualifying event to the quarterfinals, where he lost in three sets to Alexander Zverev. He also had to qualify for the Antwerp event and did so in great fashion. Harris can be a bit erratic and mentally unstable at times, but there’s a really good chance for a slight upset here.
Prediction: Harris in 3
Zizou Bergs vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: First meeting
Zizou Bergs has peaked at world No. 386 in the ATP Rankings and never even played a tour-level event before. In fact, he has only two match wins on the ATP Challenger Tour, which makes his first-round victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas absolutely amazing. But can his already magical run continue? Most probably not. Karen Khachanov has a much better indoor pedigree than the Spaniard and he is also a player that can force you to play the match on his own terms. There is incredible depth in men’s tennis, but even if players like Bergs can pull out a win like that, it’s doing it very consistently that they struggle to achieve.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
Marcos Giron vs David Goffin
Head-to-head: First meeting
This certainly isn’t David Goffin’s best season, and he was especially lacking on the clay. This, however, should be a good draw to start rebuilding his confidence. The Belgian’s ability to take the balls on the rise and take time away from the opponent usually holds up very well indoors. Marcos Giron’s first-round performance was rather uninspiring and he should not prove that much of a challenge if Goffin is playing well.
Prediction: Goffin in 2
Milos Raonic vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: Raonic 1-0
Milos Raonic could trust his big serve when faced with two set points against Aljaz Bedene. The Canadian played great pretty much besides that one service game and should be considered a very dangerous contender for the title now. Cameron Norrie has been playing really well indoors these past two weeks but it’s hard to see how his tennis could answer Raonic’s huge power. Bedene kept it close against the fifth seed mostly because of great serving. It won’t be as easy for the Brit, who just doesn’t possess a weapon of this caliber. They played indoors in Paris last year and it was a very comfortable victory for Raonic. Shouldn’t be that different here.
Prediction: Raonic in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
