Day 4 at the ATP Open Sud du France in Montpellier has some promising matches in store. As always at Last Word, we try to predict some of the matches taking place including the affable Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s outing against in-form Quentin Halys, explosive Lorenzo Sonego’s meeting with Filip Krajinovic and top seed Holger Rune’s face-off against his bogeyman Marc-Andrea Huesler.
ATP Montpellier Day 4 Predictions
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Quentin Halys
Head-to-head: First meeting
Though Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is a better player than many people give him credit for off of clay, there is certainly truth to him being underpowered on an indoor hard-court. The true bounce of the indoor surface is an asset for big servers–and Davidovich Fokina is not a big server. He scraped through his last match against Ugo Humbert after the Frenchman took a tumble in the second set, winning just over 50% of his first-serve points throughout the match.
If Quentin Halys wants to start translating that fantastic Challenger form to the ATP, this would be a great place to start. He’s had no problems covering his own first-serve, hitting a hefty number of aces throughout his recent matches. The conditions, the confidence lent from Adelaide, the home crowd, the inferiority of Davidovich Fokina’s game indoors–it all points to a Halys win.
Prediction: Halys in 3
Lorenzo Sonego vs Filip Krajinovic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Filip Krajinovic hasn’t done a lot over the 52 weeks. Take away his run to the final of Queen’s and the Serb wouldn’t even be in the Top 100. It feels as though Krajinovic’s stock has been declining recently, the spark in his game that took him to the final of the Paris Masters in 2017 seemingly fading.
Lorenzo Sonego’s stock could be seen to be declining but realistically he’s still right up there in terms of what he can deliver. His run to the title in Metz last year was more authoritative than Krajinovic’s Queen’s run, showing just how incredibly explosive he can be with his serve on indoor hard-courts. The Italian should be edging back into the top 50 sooner rather than later.
Prediction: Sonego in 2
Holger Rune vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Head-to-head: Huesler 2-0 Rune
Marc-Andrea Huesler is the only man to have played Holger Rune at least twice and walked away victorious in every set. It’s too early to call the big-hitting Swiss Rune’s bogeyman but the one-two punch of his game definitely seems rattle the youngster’s rhythm. Just like their last meeting, the indoor conditions fall right into Huesler’s wheelhouse, allowing him to play his front-foot tennis without the threat of the rallies extending too far.
Rune has shown signs of being flustered by certain opponents in the past (his supposed post-match run-in with Casper Ruud at the French Open happened to follow his fourth consecutive loss to the Norwegian)–Huesler could well be living in Rune’s head rent-free. It wouldn’t surprise us if he walked away victorious for a third time.
Prediction: Huesler in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
