After the opening Sunday, ATP Geneva continues its first-round action on Monday, one of the final tune-up opportunities for players heading to Roland Garros. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match.
ATP Geneva Day 2 Predictions
Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs Vitaliy Sachko
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zapata Miralles, who will be a seeded player at a slam for the first time in his career at the upcoming French Open, had a shaky start to European clay. The Spaniard did beat Hubert Hurkacz to reach Estoril quarterfinals but was 3-3 going into Madrid. The 26-year-old reached the fourth round and took a set off eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in the third round of Rome. Sachko is making his third ATP main draw appearance at 25, previously making Vienna 2020 and Kitzbuhel last year as a lucky loser. The Ukrainian’s first successful qualifying run came against Illya Marchenko and Alessandro Giannessi during a week when most ATP qualifying competitors are playing Roland Garros qualifying. I expect Zapata Miralles to win out.
Prediction: Zapata Miralles in 2
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Marc-Andrea Huesler vs Wu Yibing
Head-to-head: first meeting
Huesler has struggled for wins in tour events this season, getting four wins in United Cup and Davis Cup but failing to win back-to-back matches at a tournament. The Swiss is 2-5 on clay in 2023, only beating Facundo Mena in the Mexico City Challenger and Kyle Edmund in Munich. Wu does not have too much experience on clay above the ITF level though he did beat Zhang Zhizhen, Jordan Thompson, and Riccardo Bonadio in Zagreb last year, foreshadowing his tear through the Challenger Tour that came on US hard courts later that summer. This season, Wu took straight-set losses to Diego Schwartzman and Alex Molcan before getting his first (and so far only) ATP clay win in Rome over Richard Gasquet. The 23-year-old also went a set up on Francisco Cerundolo so he might just have a chance to take out the out-of-form Huesler here.
Prediction: Wu in 3
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Nicolas Jarry vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: Lajovic 2-1 Jarry
Jarry had a brilliant run at the Golden Swing that saw him reach the semifinals of Rio De Janeiro out of qualifying and go a set up on Carlos Alcaraz before winning his home event in Santiago. The Chilean has not been able to follow up these results in Europe and Marrakech, 3-5 since the Santiago with a three-match losing streak ongoing. Like Jarry, Lajovic also won his second ATP title in front of a home crowd in Serb-populated Banja Luka, taking out Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev. The 32-year-old followed it up with a Madrid run where he took out Felix Auger-Aliassime and was a set up on eventual finalist Jan-Lennard Struff, though he lost his last match in Rome quite easily, 4-6 1-6 against Nuno Borges. The Serb leads the head-to-head thanks to their 2020 ATP Cup meeting as the pair had split their first two meetings on South American clay, both three-setters. I expect a very good match with Lajovic winning out.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
