Day 3 at the ATP Mifel Open in the resort town of Los Cabos is bringing us all of the Round of 16 match-ups! As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match. We look at four matches in this article, and four in a separate article.
ATP Los Cabos Day 3 Predictions
Denis Kudla vs Ernesto Escobedo
Head-to-head: Escobedo 3-1 Kudla
Denis Kudla defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in a grueling three-hour opener, saving a match point. After dropping the first set 6-4, the American came back to win the next two sets in tiebreaks, continuing his impressive three-set record this season (14-6).
Ernesto Escobedo upset the eighth seed Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets to advance to the second round. Escobedo has not been in great form, but he continues his perfect record against McDonald, now 4-0. He encounters a similar situation in the second round, where Kudla has had the superior season, but Escobedo holds a solid winning record. Kudla’s only win against Escobedo was a retirement, so Escobedo will be looking to continue his “undefeated-ish” record.
Prediction: Escobedo in 3
Yasutaka Uchiyama vs Steve Johnson
Head-to-head: Uchiyama 1-0 Johnson
Uchiyama won his sixth match of the season, breaking a three-match losing streak. Any win is a good win, though Alexander Sarkissian is not the most formidable opponent at the moment.
Steve Johnson is similarly not having a good season and also enjoyed an easy draw against Gerardo Lopez Villasenor. Their only previous meeting was won by Uchiyama in 2019 at Tokyo qualifying. his career year.
Prediction: Johnson in 3
Taylor Fritz vs Illya Marchenko
Head-to-head: Fritz 1-0 Marchenko
Taylor Fritz surprised everyone with his third-round showing at Wimbledon as he had undergone surgery after the French Open. His wins over Nakashima and Johnson showed that the recovery was swift and he should be considered as one of the favorites for the title in Los Cabos.
His opponent, Illya Marchenko, showed everyone just how happy he is to be back on hard courts, dismissing Peter Gojowczyk in straight sets in his opener. Their only previous meeting was won by Fritz back in 2016 in Nice.
Prediction: Fritz in 2
Cameron Norrie vs Elias Ymer
Head-to-head: Norrie 1-1 Ymer
The top seed enters the hard court season after a successful grass swing, reaching the final at Queen’s Club and the third round at Wimbledon. Norrie, a former semifinalist at Los Cabos, is in the hunt to become the No. 1 British player on tour, currently 361 points behind Daniel Evans. A title here would reduce that gap severely, giving Norrie extra motivation.
His opponent Wednesday, Elias Ymer, is a clay specialist who defeated qualifier Matthew Ebden in straight sets in his opener. Norrie and Ymer have a 1-1 record, Ymer winning their meeting on clay and Norrie winning on hard. Both of the matches ended 7-5 in the third, though with their recent form this season, it would be a surprise if Ymer makes it that close.
Prediction: Norrie in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
