Eight first-round matches are scheduled for Tuesday at the 2021 ATP Hamburg European Open. In one of the matches of the day, Dusan Lajovic takes on Lucas Pouille. Who can channel some of their form from the past and advance to the next stage of the tournament? We predict four matches in this article, and the other four in a separate article.
ATP Hamburg Day 2 Predictions
Federico Delbonis vs Zhizhen Zhang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Federico Delbonis has played just one match in the past month or so, losing to Andrey Rublev in the first round at Wimbledon. He really deserved that extended rest though, following an excellent clay-court season that saw him reach the quarterfinals at Rome and the fourth round at Roland Garros. The Argentinian has so much more experience than his rival at these levels of competition and should he find it easy to jump back to what he played in the clay season, this should be rather easy.
Prediction: Delbonis in 2
Gianluca Mager vs Alex Molcan
Head-to-head: Molcan 1-0
The two very recently met at the Prostejov Challenger, where Alex Molcan ended up finishing runner-up to Federico Coria. The Slovakian had a perfect performance of counter-punching and easily mitigated all of Gianluca Mager’s power. While it shouldn’t be this easy again, Molcan hasn’t really slowed down and made the final round of qualifying at Wimbledon on a surface that’s very unfavorable for him. He also took out Filip Horansky and Christopher O’Connell in the qualifying campaign here.
Prediction: Molcan in 3
Daniel Altmaier vs Filip Krajinovic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Daniel Altmaier is coming off a Challenger title at Braunschweig, which was his maiden one at this level of competition. He’s had great results on the main tour before though, including reaching the fourth round at 2020 Roland Garros (defeated Matteo Berrettini). Altmaier didn’t drop a single set in Braunschweig, destroying Henri Laaksonen in the finals. All the match rhythm makes him the favorite even against someone like Filip Krajinovic, who’s playing a very light schedule this year and only won one match in the past two months.
Prediction: Altmaier in 3
Dusan Lajovic vs Lucas Pouille
Head-to-head: Lajovic 3-1
Both seasoned veterans haven’t done well at all in recent months. Lucas Pouille is coming back after a long hiatus and just can’t shake off the rust, while Dusan Lajovic is very far off his 2019 form. The Serbian played the German Bundesliga last week, scoring a very comfortable win over Nikola Milojevic. That might help his confidence but the match will still most likely end up being sort of struggle tennis. Lajovic has a style that’s easier to execute when you’re not in the best shape and should be a lot more consistent than the powerful Frenchman.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
