It’s still a bit confusing with two main tour events happening at the same venue at the same time, but the first round of the ATP Great Ocean Road Open should come to an end on Tuesday. One of the most interesting games will be Federico Delbonis taking on Damir Dzumhur, a matchup you’d think must have occurred in the past but actually didn’t. Who do you think will advance?
We’re predicting all 15 of today’s matches, between this and three other articles. One article features Sam Querrey vs Henri Laaksonen, another headlines John-Patrick Smith vs Tennys Sandgren, and the last features Jordan Thompson vs Gianluca Mager.
ATP Great Ocean Road Open Day 2 Predictions
Ji Sung Nam vs Dane Sweeny
Head-to-head: First meeting
Great opportunity for both. Ji Sung Nam only recently made his ATP main draw debut in Delray Beach, while Dane Sweeny was a set away from qualifying for the Australian Open. Nam’s ranking is a lot better but he hasn’t played that much recently. Sweeny, on the other hand, competed in a lot of UTR exhibitions in the latter half of 2020, getting valuable wins over players such as Li Tu or John-Patrick Smith. Coupled with his good display in Australian Open qualifying, he should be the favorite of this unexpected first-round encounter.
Prediction: Sweeny in 3
Hugo Dellien vs Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
Head-to-head: First meeting
Hugo Dellien’s ranking is heavily inflated by the changes connected to the pandemic. His 2020 campaign was actually pretty dreadful and aside from recently making it to the final round of qualifying for the Australian Open, he’s never achieved much outside of clay. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe has been haunted by injuries throughout his career but recently, the German seems to have sorted out most of the issues. This shouldn’t be too complicated.
Prediction: Stebe in 2
Mikael Torpegaard vs Pedro Martinez
Head-to-head: First meeting
We’d know who wins if this matchup was played in Ohio. Mikael Torpegaard’s big game could hurt Pedro Martinez, who usually plays his best on clay. The Spaniard made a ton of progress last year though, including a great run at the Australian Open (he qualified and made the second round, giving Daniil Medvedev a decent match). But seeing as we know nothing about his form and Torpegaard played well in the Australian Open qualifying, it puts just enough doubt in my mind to think that the Dane might have a chance here. Especially with the reportedly fast courts.
Prediction: Torpegaard in 3
Damir Dzumhur vs Federico Delbonis
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Head-to-head: First meeting
A bit of a blast from the past and quite surprisingly, the two have never faced each other before. Damir Dzumhur contested the Australian Open qualifying, falling at the last hurdle to Kimmer Coppejans. The Bosnian almost always gives a 100% and will surely leave his heart out there on the court. But will that be enough? With the lack of any indication about Federico Delbonis’s form, this matchup should favor Dzumhur on hard courts. Delbonis needs a lot of time to set up his long backswing forehand and the conditions in Australia shouldn’t allow him to do that well.
Prediction: Dzumhur in 3
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