In what will be one of the most confusing tennis weeks to follow ever, a total of six tour-level events will be played at one venue. One of them is the ATP Great Ocean Road Open which starts on Monday with nine first-round singles matches to look forward to. Who do you think will come out on top? We predict eight of Monday’s nine matches–four in this article, four in a second article.
ATP Great Ocean Road Open Day 1 Predictions
Kamil Majchrzak vs Laslo Djere
Head-to-head: Djere 1-0
Laslo Djere prioritizes playing on clay and doesn’t own a great hard court record on the ATP circuit. While Kamil Majchrzak’s progress has stalled a bit recently, the Pole showed that his ceiling is higher than that in the Australian summer before, taking Kei Nishikori to five sets at the Australian Open. With Djere’s fitness also under a question mark after a retirement in his only match this year, this should be Majchrzak’s match to lose.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 3
Yasutaka Uchiyama vs Aljaz Bedene
Head-to-head: First meeting
Yasutaka Uchiyama has been very unconvincing recently, winning just once in his past nine matches. The Japanese’s ranking is heavily inflated by his 2019 efforts and it’s been some time since he’s been a dangerous force. Meanwhile, Bedene remains an extremely solid player who keeps improving while staying under the radar. The Slovenian’s serve has been great recently and with a style like his, getting a lot of free points is vital.
Prediction: Bedene in 2
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Stefano Travaglia
Head-to-head: 1-1
They have never faced each other on hard courts so it will be a bit of unknown territory. While both players are extremely fast and cover the court well, Travaglia should have a lot more to say on the offensive side. He’s also much more versatile than Carballes Baena, who doesn’t possess quite the same repertoire of shots. Unless the Spaniard’s counterpunching makes Travaglia overhit a lot, he should be the one to come out on top.
Prediction: Travaglia in 3
Feliciano Lopez vs Kevin Anderson
Head-to-head: Anderson 4-0
A rather curious head-to-head record that Feliciano Lopez might have his best chance at changing here. Kevin Anderson has shown glimpses of his past self in a semifinal run at Vienna last year, but his past two losses ended in retirements. The South African has a significant power advantage, especially over Lopez’s almost slice-heavy backhand wing. Lopez’s chance is to force Anderson to hit from low positions, make him bend his knees. For his height, Anderson actually does that pretty well and if healthy, he looks like a considerable favorite here.
Prediction: Anderson in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
