While Day 2 was rainy at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters, Day 3 promises to not disappoint! The matchups are incredible and the tennis promises to be extremely high quality. Who will win and who will fall short? I give my best guesses below!
We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, in articles featuring Aslan Karatsev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roberto Bautista Agut vs Taylor Fritz.
ATP Monte Carlo Day 3 Predictions
Laslo Djere vs Karen Khachanov
Head to Head: never played
Laslo Djere did well to make the final of Sardinia last week. He was a set away from the title, but fell in three sets to Lorenzo Sonego. However, in every match of the tournament he won at least 68% of his first serve points. Karen Khachanov is playing his first clay court match of the season. Khachanov is 3-3 in his last 6 matches and will be looking to pick up his form during the clay court season.
These two have never played before. Djere is very good on clay and has a good first serve and really does a good job controlling the baseline on clay. His groundstrokes are big, yet he controls them well. Khachanov has a big first serve and forehand and knows how to play on the clay, as well. He’s a former French Open quarterfinalist, after all. This is a tough one to call because if Khachanov is up-to-speed on the clay, he’s the better player. But, there might be some growing pains with it being his first clay court match of the season and because Djere is a good clay courter himself, I don’t think Khachanov will find his way through this match. Djere moves on.
Prediction: Djere in 3
Marton Fucsovics vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head to Head: 3-0 Fucsovics
Marton Fucsovics is playing his first clay court match of the season, but is competent on the surface. Fucsovics has had a very good season, making the final of Rotterdam and the quarterfinals of Doha and Dubai. Lorenzo Sonego just won the tournament in Sardinia, beating Laslo Djere from a set down in the final. Sonego had to win his final 3 matches in Sardinia in 3 sets.
Fucsovics leads the head to head 3-0, including a 2-0 record on clay. In their most recent meeting at the end of 2019 in Vienna, Fucsovics held Sonego to just 41% of his second serves won. Sonego has a heavy serve and forehand, but that shouldn’t bother Fucsovics, who is very solid and can handle the spin that Sonego puts on the ball. Yes, it’s Fucsovics’ first match on clay of the season, but Sonego might be fatigued from a long week in Sardinia. Fucsovics moves on in a close one.
Prediction: Fucsovics in 3
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Filip Krajinovic
Head to Head: 2-1 Basilashvili
Nikoloz Basilashvili did well to make the semifinals in Sardinia, but played a horrible match to lose to Djere 6-2, 6-0. Basilashvili only won 48% of his first serve points and 33% of his second serve points in that match. Filip Krajinovic is playing his first clay court match of the season. Filip Krajinovic hasn’t played yet this season on the dirt. However, Krajinovic’s favorite surface is clay and his career winning percentage on the clay is 69%.
Basilashvili leads the head to head 2-1, although the last time they played was 2015. Basilashvili was a bit hit-and-miss in Sardinia and Krajinovic is a solid clay court player that can get the ball deep in the court consistently. While he might start out slow as he gets comfortable on the surface again, expect Krajinovic to advance.
Prediction: Krajinovic in 3
Albert Ramos vs Jannik Sinner
Head to Head: never played
Albert Ramos has had a very busy clay court season. He reached the final of Codoba, and the semifinals of both Buenos Aires, and Marbella. Ramos is playing effective lefty tennis. Jannik Sinner hasn’t played on clay yet this year, but did just reach the final of Miami. Sinner is a very good clay court player, however. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open last season.
These two have never played before. Ramos will have to avoid the powerful Sinner backhand and go up-the-line more with his lefty forehand instead of getting into crosscourt exchange. Ramos will have to also try to return first serves a little bit better than he did in Marbella, where all of his opponents won over 70% of their first serve points. Sinner might take a little time to adjust to the clay, but he has too much power for Ramos and the Spaniard will struggle when the cross court exchanges backfire on him. Sinner moves on.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
