When it comes to singles action, it’s a bit of a slower day at the 2022 ATP Seoul Open. Taro Daniel against Emilio Gomez will be the match that wraps up the opening round. Two encounters from the second stage of the event are also featured on Wednesday’s schedule. Who do you think will advance?
ATP Seoul Open
Taro Daniel vs Emilio Gomez
Head-to-head: first meeting
Gomez is coming off a runner-up appearance at the Columbus Challenger. Had he defeated Jordan Thompson in the final he would have debuted in the top 100 on Monday. As such, the Ecuadorian is still seeking an opportunity to achieve that milestone. It won’t be easy to clinch it this week. Even with the Wednesday start, it’s still a pretty short turnaround. Daniel is definitely not an easy opponent too and he’s probably a bit under-ranked due to the heavily ATP Tour oriented schedule he’s taken on this year. Expect the Japanese to have the edge here.
Prediction: Daniel in 3
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Radu Albot vs Steve Johnson
Head-to-head: Albot 2-1 Johnson
Radu Albot is currently in the midst a six-match winning streak, having lifted the title at the Istanbul Challenger and defeated Hiroki Moriya in the opening round here. These days, very much in the twilight of his career, the Moldovan rarely looks like the player who was once pretty deep inside the top 50, but he’s still an excellent competitor. Steve Johnson, also much closer to the end of his career than the start, didn’t look particularly comfortable in his opening round against Ji-Sung Nam and someone as solid as Albot could capitalize on the American’s level being very up-and-down of late.
Prediction: Albot in 3
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Jaume Munar vs Denis Shapovalov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Denis Shapovalov had a pretty awful summer, but some improvement could be seen as the Canadian grabbed two wins each in Cincinnati and at the US Open. Whether the 23-year-old keeps it up is a bit of an enigma, but he’s had some decent Asian swing results in the past. Jaume Munar is still a clay-court specialist, yet he’s playing with a bit more intent this year and it’s improved his game on other surfaces. Shapovalov should clinch it, but remember that the Canadian has wasted too many opportunities like that in the not-so-distant past for that to be anything like a certainty.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 3
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