Day 4 sees the culmination of Round of 16 action for men’s singles in Marseille. Four quality matches are scheduled with the top two seeds Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas taking to the court. We preview and predict all four Round of 16 clashes scheduled.
ATP Marseille Day 4 Predictions
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Arthur Rinderknech
Head to head – First Meeting
It was delightful to see a qualifier perform the way Arthur Rinderknech did in his first round match. The Frenchman regrouped after losing the first set to win the match but his campaign only gets tougher from here.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina played a near perfect match to dispatch Petros Tsitsipas and the Spaniard will be dangerous as the draw whittles down. Expect Rinderknech to stay competitive but Fokina possesses the superior power from the baseline and should make it to the last eight.
Prediction: Fokina in 2
Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Cameron Norrie
Head to head – Herbert 1-0 Norrie
Coming into this match, Pierre-Hugues Herbert has looked the stronger of the two in their opening round matches. Cameron Norrie struggled against the qualifier in Constant Lestienne managing to finally close the match 6-3 in the third set.
Herbert played the way he wanted to against Kei Nishikori which is not easy to achieve. The Frenchman served exceptionally well and looked at ease in the fast conditions of Marseille. Expect Herbert to continue his strong showing by playing first strike tennis and rushing Norrie to commit errors.
Prediction: Herbert in 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lucas Pouille
Head to head – Tsitsipas 1-0 Pouille
Stefanos Tsitsipas played well in Rotterdam until he ran into Andrey Rublev. The Greek couldn’t do much in that match but a new tournament brings new opportunities and his first match is against a player who’s struggling for form big time.
Lucas Pouille did come through in straight sets in his opening round match but the Greek is at a different level at the moment and the consistency that Tsitsipas brings will prove to be too much for the Frenchman
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Daniil Medvedev vs Egor Gerasimov
Head to head – Medvedev 2-0 Gerasimov
The newly crowned No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev will look to get his season back to winning ways after a blip in Rotterdam. The Russian has been the most impressive player since Paris Masters last year and when he’s on there’s very little anyone can do to stop him. Indoor hard courts is the place where Medvedev is at his best and the Russian will be utilizing that to the fullest.
Egor Gerasimov blasted away his first round opponent and that to me suggests he won’t be going away quietly. Expect Gerasimov to nick off a set but Medvedev should regroup and get the win.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Main Photo from Getty.