After an amazing opening day, Day 2 will finish up the first round ATP action in Los Cabos with another six matches on the schedule. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Ernesto Escobedo vs Mackenzie McDonald. We predict the other three matches in a separate article.
ATP Los Cabos Day 2 Predictions
Matthew Ebden vs Elias Ymer
Head-to-head: first meeting
The 33-year-old qualified without dropping a set, beating Harri Heliovaara and John-Patrick Smith. Ebden had a strong start to the year with a quarterfinal in Singapore and a semifinal in Marseille, though his season has petered out since. He will be hoping for a new jolt of energy, returning to his best surface.
Getting off of his best surface is Elias Ymer. The 25-year-old Swede has had a consistent season on clay Challengers, reaching three semifinals and one final. Ymer even had some success on hard courts to start the year, qualifying for the Australian Open. Though the surface in Los Cabos is a bit slower, it would be a surprise if Ymer got his first hardcourt win since January here.
Prediction: Ebden in 2
Alexander Sarkissian vs Yasatuka Uchiyama
Head-to-head: Sarkissian 1-0 Uchiyama
Continuing the qualifier theme of this article is Alexander Sarkissian, the only unseeded player to qualify and definitely the most surprising. This is only the second tournament the 31-year-old is playing since the tour paused in March 2020. Sarkissian beat Raymond Sarmiento before Yosuke Watanuki retired deep into the third set in their final qualifying round match.
Yasutaka Uchiyama is having a bad season. To illustrate just how bad it has been, despite playing a full-time schedule, Uchiyama only has two more wins than Sarkissian this season. Without a doubt, both players will see each other as a very good draw and will be looking to take advantage of it. Sarkissian might feel like he has a slight edge, winning their only previous meeting in 2017.
Prediction: Uchiyama in 3
Ernesto Escobedo vs Mackenzie McDonald
Head-to-head: Escobedo 3-0 McDonald
Escobedo has had a middling season so far, remaining near the tail end of the Top 200. He managed to qualify for Los Cabos with straight-set wins over Ricardo Rodriguez-Pace and Alex Rybakov. #8 seed Mackenzie McDonald is having twice the season Escobedo is having, literally! The 26-year-old has earned twice as many wins, which means that despite having a similar starting point this season, McDonald is close to re-entering the Top 100.
The only thing in Escobedo’s favor here is the head-to-head, as he won all three of their previous meetings. With the most recent meeting over three years ago, at Acapulco in 2018, McDonald should still be considered a favorite.
Prediction: McDonald in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
