After an exciting opening day of main draw action, Day 2 of the ATP Maharashtra Open in Pune is going to bring us the rest of the first-round matches. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match It’s going to be packed with action, so we have a second prediction article with the other four clashes, including Emil Ruusuvuori vs Egor Gerasimov. Who do you think will advance?
ATP Pune Day 2 Predictions
Elias Ymer vs Gian Marco Moroni
H2H: Ymer 1-0 Moroni
Two qualifiers meet in the first round, though Ymer possesses far more main tour experience with 79 ATP-level career matches while this will be Moroni’s third main tour match. The Swede qualified over Dimitar Kuzmanov and Marc Polmans without dropping a set while the Italian got wins over Evgeny Donskoy and Kimmer Coppejans. Moroni is an average Challenger-level player at this point in his career so I expect Ymer’s experience to make the difference here.
Prediction: Ymer in 2
Arjun Kadhe vs Joao Sousa
H2H: first meeting
Kadhe is by far the weakest of the main draw wild cards, though Pune is his home town. The 28-year-old is currently ranked No. 778 and has never been inside the Top 300. His only previous main tour appearances have been Pune wild cards and he is yet to win a set. Sousa has been on the decline for the past two seasons. At 32, he is still a solid Challenger player and shouldn’t have too much trouble with Kadhe.
Prediction: Sousa in 2
Vit Kopriva vs Cem Ilkel
H2H: Kopriva 2-1 Ilkel
Kopriva and Ilkel have already met this year in Bendigo, one of the three losses the winless Turk has suffered in 2022. The Czech went on to reach the quarterfinals in Bendigo and won a round at Australian Open qualifying before qualifying in Pune with a big win over Altug Celikbilek. I expect a close match here but Kopriva’s confidence has to be higher than Ilkel’s right now with his recent win.
Prediction: Kopriva in 3
Kamil Majchrzak vs Jay Clarke
H2H: Majchrzak 1-0 Clarke
Majchrzak had a mixed Australian summer with a 4-1 record but a positive test for Covid that almost took him out of the Australian Open. Clarke chose to start his year in Forli, playing three consecutive Challengers there and reaching the final at the second one. The 23-year-old qualified with wins over Andrew Harris and Alexandre Muller. The Pole won their previous meeting in a third-set tiebreak of a 2017 Futures in Antalya. It should be another tight match but I see Majchrzak coming out on top.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
