A stacked draw at the ATP Hamburg European Open brings some enticing first meetings for us spectators as early as Round 2 (technically Round 1 for Rublev!). We look to predict all the men’s matches taking place on day 3 in Hamburg including Borna Coric’s continued comeback against Tallon Griekspoor and a flashy match-up between Emil Ruusuvuori and Lorenzo Musetti.
ATP Hamburg Day 3 Predictions
Andrey Rublev vs Ricardas Berankis
Head-to-head: Rublev 2-0 Berankis
There’s not much to be said here. Ricardas Berankis has had his moments throughout his career (defeating Medvedev in Dubai comes to mind three years ago) but he’s unlikely to be able to pull off the upset here.
Rublev’s forehand is ordinarily ferocious but the slower courts of Hamburg will give him even more time to tee off on his shots. Couple this with the fact Rublev is 82-11 against players ranked outside of the top-50 from 2018 onwards and the chances of an upset are miniscule.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Jozef Kovalik
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina did well to get the win against Botic Van De Zandschulp in the first-round. It wasn’t the tidiest match – the Spaniard had to grit his teeth to get over the line. He’ll be looking to make amends in his match against qualifier Jozef Kovalik in the next round.
Though this tournament should make pretty comfortable conditions for the Spaniard, his lack of form in his match against BVDZ is tough to ignore. It would be no surprise to see ADF continue to struggle to find the form that got him to a Masters final. We’ll back that struggle to happen but expect grit and determination to see him over the line.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in 3
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Alex Molcan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alex Molcan is currently ranked #48 in the world, to Pablo Carreno Busta’s #24. If you think Molcan is half the player PCB is however, think again–the Slovak’s level on clay does his ranking a disservice. In his short career so far, he has won 73% of his matches on the surface. Compare that to PCB’s 57% and you start to get an idea of just how adept a clay-courter Molcan is.
PCB has also been susceptible to losses from power players in recent times on clay (see Alcaraz in Madrid, Khachanov in Rome, Zverev in Monte Carlo). We expect Molcan’s huge lefty forehand to cause the defending champion all kinds of problem.
Prediction: Molcan in 2
Borna Coric vs Tallon Griekspoor
Head-to-head: First meeting
With both Borna Coric and Tallon Griekspoor fresh off of Challenger titles on clay, this match should be very entertaining.
At the same time, it’s quite difficult to stomach relying on the form of Coric. His comeback hasn’t been without its fair share of disappointment – previous to his title in Parma, he was 5-10 on the year. On the other hand, we’re convinced Griekspoor will come out firing. Nearly all of his problems performing at ATP-level are behind him as of this year, his serving performance against Holger Rune in the previous round exceptional proof of this.
Given the Dutchman is the more reliable of the two players to back at the moment, we’re gonna give him the edge here.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Lorenzo Musetti vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: First meeting
It’s been a pretty fruitless year for Lorenzo Musetti. Very few matches have come easily for him and he hasn’t won any of his three quarterfinals so far.
On the other side of the net, ordinarily Emil Ruusuvuori wouldn’t exactly be brimming with confidence either. Nearly all of his wins on this surface have come against players who also aren’t suited to the red dirt. His win against Diego Schwartzman in the previous round has thrown a slight spanner in the works however. Is the Finn finally figuring out a way to overpower his opponents on clay?
It’s probably going three sets whatever happens. With both players likely to be playing a bit up and down, we’re going to back the variety of Musetti to just see him find a way past Ruusuvuori’s ever-growing game.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
