There were plenty upsets on the second day at the ATP Stockholm Open, with seeded players Sebastian Baez and Christopher Eubanks both losing their respective first-round matches. Six matches are scheduled on the third day in Stockholm and, as always, we here at LWOT are offering our prediction for every match in Stockholm including Gael Monfils vs Marton Fucsovics. But who will advance?
ATP Stockholm Day 3 Predictions
Tallon Griekspoor vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: Griekspoor 2-0 Ruusuvuori
Tallon Griekspoor has beaten the Finnish #1 twice in 2023 and both were in straight sets. However, Emil Ruusuvuori will take confidence from his first-round win. He was always the favourite to beat Benjamin Hassan, but lost just three games in a dominant win. Ruusuvori is playing his first tournament in over a month after a long bout of illness, yet he did not show any rustiness in his first-round contest. It has been a breakthrough season for Griekspoor.
The Dutchman won his home tournament in Hertogenbosch and then reached the final in Washington. Both players play very aggressively and this will come down to who can find their range more effectively in the moderately fast conditions in Stockholm. Although Griekspoor’s overall season is more impressive of the two players, he has not managed many wins since Washington. Griekspoor also struggled during the indoor season last year. This may be the ideal moment for Ruusuvori to beat the Dutchman for the first time at the ATP Stockholm Open.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
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Lorenzo Sonego vs Pavel Kotov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players came through battles in their respective first-round matches. Lorenzo Sonego won a scrappy match after losing the first set against Dusan Lajovic, while Kotov also recovered from a set down to defeat Christopher Eubanks in a final-set tiebreak. Pavel Kotov will needed to use variety against Sonego. In truth, Eubanks offered very little resistance on return and did not break serve once.
Sonego will test Kotov’s all-round game more. It is imperative that he does not allow the Italian to get into a solid rhythm from the baseline, where he is likely to win most of the points. Kotov does have the ability to serve-and-volley and should use that ploy to disrupt Sonego. Overall, the Italian’s game does have a slight edge, but the conditions at the ATP Stockholm Open do give Kotov a chance of causing another upset.
Prediction: Sonego in 3
Holger Rune vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Holger Rune needs to find form quickly if he has to have any real chance of qualify for the ATP Tour Finals. The Dane has managed just one win since Wimbledon and is now set to defend a very large number of points after his successful indoor season last year. Fortunately for Rune, this should be a good match for to try and gain some momentum.
Miomir Kecmanovic did reach the quarterfinal of the ATP 250 event in Chengdu a few weeks ago, but that is his only result of any note on hard courts in recent months. The Serbian’s overall results in 2023 also have not lived up to what he achieved last year. Rune should be able to overwhelm him on a hard court with the intensity of his groundstrokes. However, it is hard to predict a win for the 20-year-old with much confidence currently. Nonetheless, he should have the edge at the ATP Stockholm Open.
Prediction: Rune in 2
Main photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
