It is great to see fresh players at the start of a new season taking to the court. The tennis at the ATP Adelaide International 2 has been bright, inventive, and powerful so far. We hope for more of the same in the second round. We preview four Day 3 matches in this article, and four more in a sister article, which features Thanasi Kokkinakis vs John Isner, amongst others.
ATP Adelaide 2 Day 3 Predictions
Tommy Paul vs Benjamin Bonzi
H2H: First meeting
Paul appears to be taking up where he left off this season. He saw off the challenge of Frances Tiafoe in the first round and he will like his chances against the Frenchman. Bonzi will be delighted to get another ATP win under his belt and if he can begin to feel comfortable on the main tour then players need to watch out because he can really play. He will push Paul all the way in this match and probably has a better chance of winning than most expect, but I just about favor Paul to progress.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Aleksandar Vukic vs Steve Johnson
H2H: Johnson 2-0
These two played at this venue last week and the American came out on top in three sets. Johnson’s form has been very good so far and he saw off a different Australian wild card in Alex Bolt in the first round. Last week Vukic struggled to return the Johnson first serve, even though the American only got 58% of them in during the match, if Johnson could bring that percentage up then the match is likely to swing that way.
Prediction: Johnson in 2
Arthur Rinderknech vs Soowoo Kwon
H2H: First meeting
The big Frenchman should have enough power to keep Kwon at bay in this match. This was demonstrated well in his opening victory over Mackenzie McDonald where Rinderknech sent down 22 aces without a double fault. However, Kwon handled Lloyd Harris’ power exceptionally well so he is in a mode where he is used to defending from big shots and being able to turn the tables to launch some shots of his own. It could be a tight encounter decided by a break here or there or a tiebreak, but I’m backing the Rinderknech serve to hold.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 3
Gael Monfils vs Thiago Monteiro
H2H: 1-1
Monfils’ final appearance last week made it 18 seasons in a row that the Frenchman has made an ATP final. An incredible record. He emerged victorious as well, which means he is going for back-to-back titles now. He should get off to a comfortable start here. It took Monteiro a while to get into his match against Yoshihito Nishioka but the Brazilian did well to turn it around and get the win. Monfils should be too dominant on serve and too athletic on return to allow Monteiro to unduly trouble him here.
Prediction: Monfils in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
