Day 2 is a must-see at the ATP 250 in Stuttgart as Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios makes his long-awaited return to tennis at the Boss Open. The mercurial Aussie will play China’s history-maker Yibing Wu in the last match of the day. We also preview the rest of the day’s matches in another article. Who do you think will prevail?
ATP Stuttgart Day 2 Predictions
Gregoire Barrere vs Oscar Otte
Head-to-head: first meeting
Oscar Otte is in the midst of a disastrous season. At this time last year, he rose to a career-high world #36 after a sterling grass-court season. But with a paltry six wins since the start of 2023, his ranking has stooped to three digits. You can’t fault the effort considering he’s lost a few close matches in recent weeks, so his confidence is not completely gone. With that said, Barrere is not going to hand him the match, as he also looks to return to winning touch. Otte might need to go the distance again.
Prediction: Otte in 3
Daniel Altmaier vs Christopher O’Connell
Head-to-head: first meeting
Of the three Germans playing on Day 2, Daniel Altmaier has the most daunting challenge, at least on paper. Altmaier and O’Connell are punching well above their weight this season. Altmaier has never been a fan of grass though (as is the case with most clay courters), partly because he hasn’t mastered the technicalities of playing in it. The Aussie has the right skillset a mental edge to win this clash of one-handers.
Prediction: O’Connell in 3
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Jan-Lennard Struff vs Zhizhen Zhang
Head-to-head: Struff 1-0 Zhang
Zhizhen Zhang is uniquely talented and the quality of his shots on red clay was eye-opening. His ranking naturally shot up to a career-high #56 after reaching the quarterfinal in Madrid and the third round of the French Open. But can we expect a seamless transition to grass? Even though he has qualified for Wimbledon once before, the surface will be a rhythm disruptor. Struff is proven pretty much on every surface and he’s playing on home soil. The German will be the early pacesetter in this one.
Prediction: Struff in 2
Nick Kyrgios vs Yibing Wu
Head-to-head: first meeting
Nick Kyrgios was on a steady upward trajectory in 2022. But Kyrgios played through pain in the second half of last season. A persistent knee injury forced him to shut down his campaign in Tokyo at the start of October. Eventually, he decided to have surgery right before the Australian Open and he regularly updated his fans on his recovery. He will be expected to take to the court in Stuttgart where he will play his first match of the season against Yibing Wu. The Chinese history maker has never played on grass, and even if Kyrgios operates less than 100%, he is not equipped to pose problems.
Prediction: Kyrgios in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
