Day two at the ATP Marseille Open should provide the fans in France’s second city with plenty of entertainment. There are seven matches on the schedule and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Maxime Cressy vs Geoffrey Blancaneaux. But who will advance?
ATP Marseille Day 2 Predictions
Gregoire Barrere vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Head-to-Head: Barrere 1-0 Huesler
Eight seed Marc-Andrea Huesler will take on Frenchman Gregoire Barrere in the first round in Marseille. Huesler has had a meteoric rise over the last 12 months, gaining over 140 ranking spots to his current place of world #48. The lefty faces Barrere for the first time in six years and is an entirely different player since their first meeting.
Barrere also has reshaped his game and is up to a career-high ranking of world #58. The 29-year-old Frenchman holds a 10-2 record over the last 12 matches, with his only losses coming against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Holger Rune. Epect a battle between Huesler and Barrere but give a slight advantage to the big-serving Swiss.
Prediction: Huesler in 3
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Lukas Klein vs David Goffin
Head-to-Head: first meeting
David Goffin, seeded fifth, will take on qualifier Lukas Klein in the first round at the ATP Marseille Open. Goffin did win a Challenger title in late January but has been a relatively inconsistent player over the last three seasons. 24-year-old Lukas Klein picked up his first wins of the season in qualifying to push himself into the main draw. Klein was a force on the Challenger Tour last year but has found trouble breaking through against the top 100 players. Expect Goffin to be able to control most rallies in this match and force Klein into an insurmountable amount of unforced errors.
Prediction: Goffin in 2
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Alexander Ritschard vs Pablo Andujar
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Qualifier Alexander Ritschard will square off against veteran Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the first round in Marseille. It will be the first meeting between the two. Ritschard had lost eight consecutive matches dating back to last season before winning twice in the Marseille qualies.
He has the tools and the serve to challenge anyone, but the consistency often fails to show. Andujar has dropped five straight matches of his own and has not strung back-to-back wins together in over six months. Andujar has always been a player that favours the clay. Ritschard’s power will be too tough much for the veteran Andujar to live with on the quick courts in Marseille.
Prediction: Ritschard in 3
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Richard Gasquet vs Laurent Lokoli
Head-to-Head: Gasquet 1-0 Lokoli
Veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet started the year strong with a title in Auckland but has won only one match since then. That said, I like the way he has been playing as the former-world #7 is proving he can hang on the court against anyone. Gasquet squares off against fellow Frenchman Laurent Lokoli in the first round. Gasquet bested Lokoli 6-4 6-4 five months ago in Orleans. Do not expect Lokoli to have the tools to break down his elder compatriot.
Prediction: Gasquet in 2
Main photo credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
