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ATP Murray River Open Day 2 Predictions Including Emil Ruusuvuori vs Viktor Troicki

Day 2 of the ATP Murray River Open is here! The schedule is chalk-full of exciting matches Tuesday, so it’s must-watch television! Who will win and who will fall short? I give my best guesses here! I also predict the day’s other five matches, found in a second article.

ATP Murray River Open Day 2 Prediction

Juan Ignacio Londero vs Mikhail Kukushkin

Head to Head: never played

Last year’s US Open first round victory was Juan Ignacio Londero’s first win on a hard court since Shanghai 2019. Overall, Londero has lost eight of his last nine matches on hard. Mikhail Kukushkin finished 2020 fairly strong with a quarterfinal appearance in Nur-Sultan. Neither player has played a match yet in 2021.

These two have never plaeyd before. Londero, who is more comfortable on clay, relies on a big topspin-heavy forehand. Topspin-heavy is the opposite of how I would describe Kukushkin’s game. He plays extremely flat groundstrokes, making life very uncomfortable for opponents. Kukushkin’s game suits hard courts much better than Londero’s and I don’t trust Londero’s backhand to hold up. Kukushkin wins.
Prediction: Kukushkin in 3

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Borna Gojo vs Alexei Popyrin

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Head to Head: never played

Borna Gojo fought valiantly in Australian Open qualifying, making the final qualifying round before falling in a third set super tiebreak to Henri Laaksonen. Alexei Popyrin hasn’t yet played in 2021. He ended 2020 with a quarterfinal appearance on the carpet of Eckental.

These two have never played before. Gojo is a player on the rise. His serve is huge and he does a great job playing with controlled aggression. Popyrin is a solid baseliner and didn’t have to quarantine, as he was already in Australia, which is a big advantage. However, I love how Gojo has been playing recently, and quite frankly, I think he will be too good for Popyrin.
Prediction: Gojo in 3

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Marcos Giron vs Michael Mmoh

Head to Head: 1-0 Mmoh

Marcos Giron hasn’t played a match in 2021 yet, but he ended 2020 strong. Giron qualified and then made the round of 16 at the Paris Masters event. Michael Mmoh qualified for the Australian Open, only losing one set in the process. This included a very impressive straight sets victory over Arthur Rinderknech in the final qualifying round.

Mmoh leads the head to head 1-0, having beaten Giron in a 2017 Challenger event. Both players are so consistent from the baseline and can ramp up the power when given the chance, there’s not a lot to separate these two. Given Mmoh’s really good qualifying campaign and because I think he has a bit more power than Giron, I give him the slightest edge. Mmoh moves on.
Prediction: Mmoh in 3

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Andrew Harris vs Taro Daniel

Head to Head: never played

Andrew Harris did well to win a match in Australian Open qualifying, but ultimately fell in the second qualifying round to Hugo Dellien. Taro Daniel lost in the final qualifying round, but is a lucky loser for the Australian Open main draw. Daniel has hit a good stretch of form, going back to the end of 2020. Daniel has won eight of his last ten matches.

These two have never played before. Daniel is striking the ball so well at the moment. He doesn’t have a big serve, but he’s hitting his spots and he’s hitting with great depth and accuracy from the baseline. I don’t think that Harris has the baseline game to hang with Daniel. Daniel moves on.
Prediction: Daniel in 2

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Emil Ruusuvuori vs Viktor Troicki

Head to Head: 1-0 Ruusuvuori

Emil Ruusuvuori fell to Stefano Travaglia in the second round of Antalya in his first tournament of 2021. It wasn’t a great showing, but nothing to be concerned about either. Viktor Troicki did well to qualify for the Australian Open, only dropping one set. This included an impressive showing against Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the final qualifying.

Ruusuvuori leads the head to head 1-0, winning a three-set match at the end of last season in Nur-Sultan. Power tennis will be on full-display in this matchup. Both players have big serves and like to have control over the baseline. However, Troicki has lost a step at this point in his career and Ruusuvuori is just a little steadier with his baseline game. Expect Ruusuvuori to win this one, but it will be close.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3

Main Photo from Getty.

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