Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Italy’s Fabio Fognini are among the players hunting for Olympic medals in men’s tennis as round 2 will get underway at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Here is your look at all the action. We also have predictions for matches featuring Daniil Medvedev and John Millman.
Fabio Fognini vs Egor Gerasimov
Yesh Ginsburg: Fognini looks dialed in here. He can be very dangerous when he’s playing well. Watch out for him in this event. Fognini in 2
Anurag Sahay: Fabio Fognini has tremendous potential but he has been worryingly inconsistent all his active years. His mercurial nature has had a considerable influence on his results. Also, he was handed a relatively easy first round opponent. Gerasimov couldn’t quite impress as he toiled against Simon, but quite expectedly took him out. And Fognini is a player of higher calibre. Both players can be lethal on hard courts on their day. The Italian will want to compensate for an uneventful season with a medal. It could be either one’s for the taking, but Fognini should prevail in a match of ups and downs, quite like his psyche. This is their first meeting and both players will have to put up a special performance. The first two days did see a few upsets, but I don’t see Gerasimov producing one in this match.
Fognini in 2
Dominik Koepfer vs Max Purcell
Yesh: Koepfer has been in strong form for a few months now. He’ll only go as far as the draw allows him––but he’s going to beat everyone who’s not a major contender. Koepfer in 2
Anurag: The biggest upset of the 2020 Olympics came when a spirited Purcell had the Canadian favorite Auger-Aliassime off-guard on a bad day. The Australian is possessed- he made the most of defending Gold medalist Andy Murray’s last minute exit. He scored the ninth win and a fifth Top 10 haul in his last ten matches. Can Koepfer arrest the Australian’s dream run? I think he can. But he will not. Although the German has a gigantic service game that is enough to cause problems on the outdoor hard courts, expect Purccell to extend his 2021 record of 8-2 on outdoor hard courts Purcell in 3
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Lorenzo Sonego
Yesh: Sonego is in great form and rapidly improving. The Italian is fun to watch and should win this one, though Basilashvili can be tough to beat when his game is on. Sonego in 3
Anurag: Clay-courters don’t generally adapt well enough on other surfaces. Rudd, Gaston and Baena fall in that category. Sonego couldn’t go deep at Wimbledon. He is ranked higher than the Georgian, but slogged through the first round match against someone who is not even in the top 100. Both Basilashvili and Sonego have great firepower in their shots, but the Georgian has a more versatile game. The pressure is there-he is the sole representative for his nation but he is not in uncharted territory. All that said, this match has the Georgian’s win written all over it. Basilashvili is going a step further in his quest for a medal. Basilashvili in 2
Novak Djokovic vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Yesh: Novak Djokovic has struggled with Struff in the past, and this is the surface where the German can do damage to him. If we’re going to see an early upset, this is the match. Of course, we’re not going to see an early upset. Djokovic in 2
Anurag: Struff was at his best towards the end of the clay season as he enjoyed a deep run at the French Open. But he couldn’t keep up that form in the intervening few weeks. Now, in Tokyo, he has found new inspiration and the result was a thumping win over Monteiro. However, that is not going to bother the Serb, who is a man on a mission. Djokovic has this tendency to drop guard in the early stages of a match though. The German trails 5-0 behind Djokovic and to upset the World # 1 should be a big ask. So, while the Serb moves ahead, expect this to go the distance. Djokovic in 3
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