After the first day at the ATP Den Bosch Open featured just one completed match due to rain, the organisers will be hoping for clearer skies on day two in the Netherlands. Several first-round matches are not yet set, but there should still be some entertaining grass-court tennis for the fans. But who will book their place in the second round?
ATP Den Bosch Day 2 Predictions
Tommy Paul vs Brandon Nakashima
Head-to-head: first meeting
Tommy Paul has played just three grass0court matches at all levels so far in his professional career. He won one Challenger match, so at least there’s that. Nakashima has barely more experience, but managed two wins in a Challenger last week before falling to grass maven Andy Murray, who has two Wimbledon titles under his belt. Paul is the better player overall, though Nakashima is slowly plodding his way up the ranks, still very young at 20 years old. And Paul is having a better season by a little. But how much does that mean on an unfamiliar surface? I’ll go with Nakashima’s recent grass warmup as the decider.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
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Ilya Ivashka vs Mackenzie McDonald
Head-to-head: Ivashka 3-2 McDonald
Neither player is having a great season, but Ilya Ivashka has picked up his game a bit recently. Also neither player has much grass-court experience, and has about the same win percentage on the surface. Their head-to-head is close, although McDonald’s wins were both on hard court and Ivashka’s three on clay, with hard courts playing more more similarly to grass-court than clay. And McDonald has a little experience at this tournament, having reached the quarterfinals four years ago, and he also made the fourth round at Wimbledon that year. Overall it’s very close, but I like McDonald’s quick forehand on the grass better, as well as his net play. His recent struggles, though, and Ivashka playing well keep me from picking it in two.
Prediction: McDonald in 3
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Emil Ruusuvuori vs Botic van de Zandschulp
Head-to-head: first meeting
Botic van de Zandschulp has been playing very well recently, with wins over Casper Ruud, Pablo Carreno Busta, Sebastian Korda, and Miomir Kecmanovic within the last month or so. Emil Ruusuvuori not so much, although his overall year has been good and he continues his slow and erratic climb up the rankings. However (tell me if you’ve heard this before), neither has experience on grass, accounting for a whole five matches between them at all levels. But they are similar players, and the Dutchman has been playing much better recently, along with having home court advantage.
Prediction: Van de Zandschulp in 3
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Karen Khachanov vs Alejandro Tabilo
Head-to-head: first meeting
Alejandro Tabilo has played exactly one match on grass at any level (a loss). Grass is rare, of course, but Tabilo is greener than the grass he’ll be playing on. Meanwhile, Karen Khachanov has some experience on the surface, with a two-thirds win percentage. That strongly favors the Russian (who has otherwise played well recently), in addition to Tabilo just coming back from a stress fracture on his playing arm. Tabilo has a loopy forehand that is more suited to clay, and he will likely struggle if the ball is moving fast off the grass.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
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