Though the Rome Masters has just finished and the French Open is just around the corner, the ATP Tour has filled the spare time with more tournaments. This week, we’re at the 250-event in Lyon. On day two, we have the diminutive Argentine, Diego Schwartzman, the magical one-handed backhand of Richard Gasquet and the lanky Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech, in contention. As always at LWOT, we’ve tried to predict the outcomes of their matches. We also look at the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
ATP Lyon Day 2 Predictions
Richard Gasquet vs Mikael Ymer
Head-to-head: 2-2 (all levels)
Richard Gasquet and Mikael Ymer square off again having played only a week ago in Bordeaux. Gasquet won on that occasion, winning the first set tiebreak 16 points to 14. With an even head-to-head as well, there’s very little between the two players as the Swede gives the Frenchman very few free points. This also happens to be their fifth meeting in France meaning the boost from the home crowd will do very little to influence the result.
Given how up and down Gasquet’s first serve-in rates have been recently, we’re going to back the flip result.
Prediction: Ymer in 3
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Arthur Rinderknech vs Lloyd Harris
Head-to-head: First meeting
Lloyd Harris’s comeback has been promising. After stopping his season early due to injury, he’s returned to put together a couple of Challenger semifinal runs and a final run, immediately putting him back into the top 300. He lost some of his momentum losing close matches to good players but there’s no denying his serve still gives him a chance in every match.
Arthur Rinderknech will get some stiff competition here, even on the South African’s lesser-preferred surface. Still, it’s easy to forget how good a player Rinderknech is given his recent record. He should have a touch more quality from the baseline than his opponent.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 3
Diego Schwartzman vs Brandon Nakashima
Head-to-head: Schwartzman 1-0 Nakashima
Both Diego Schwartzman and Brandon Nakashima have been in pretty dire straits. Neither player has been able to get any momentum going this year, Schwartzman in particular going down meekly on his favourite surface to players like Grenier, Lajovic and Zapata Miralles.
The lack of experience on clay does leave Nakashima rather exposed, however, and it’s not as though Schwartzman hasn’t won any matches this year. He should be able to put together a good enough performance to see this one through.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
