The second round will be completed on Thursday at the 2023 ATP Erste Bank Open in Vienna. It’s an exciting slate of matches with Andrey Rublev potentially forced to work hard against Matteo Arnaldi and the feel-good matchup of entertainers in Frances Tiafoe and Gael Monfils. Who do you think will advance?
ATP Vienna Day 4 Predictions
Matteo Arnaldi vs Andrey Rublev
Head-to-head: First meeting
Andrey Rublev is one of the toughest players on tour to pull off an upset against, mostly due to his extremely high base level. But then again, the Russian might have issues matching your peak performance or bringing in some variety if he needs to. Matteo Arnaldi has improved so much this year and has enough firepower in his serve and forehand to trouble the Russian now, of course along with his excellent movement. It might be a typical Rublev early round though. The opponent threatens for a while but eventually, the World No. 5 comes up with the goods.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Borna Gojo vs Tommy Paul
Head-to-head: First meeting
Borna Gojo has only played a few times since his breakout US Open run, going 2-1 in Davis Cup Finals (he’s a beast in team-based competitions) and losing to Stan Wawrinka in Stockholm. Nothing has changed though, he still has that monster serve and a new degree of rally tolerance this year. Tommy Paul isn’t fully out of his range and there’s a bit of pressure on the American regarding the Race to Turin. But ultimately, he’s just so much more consistent than Gojo and should have the athleticism/return skills to make him play one more ball.
Prediction: Paul in 2
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Frances Tiafoe vs Gael Monfils
Head-to-head: 1-1
The two shared a touching moment at the net last time they squared off with Frances Tiafoe telling Gael Monfils that he’s one of the players who have inspired him in the past. The French legend is still active two years later, having recently picked up his 12th ATP Tour title. In fact, the 37-year-old has been pretty fantastic since the North American hard court swing. Did that Stockholm run take too much out of him? We’ll see, but Frances Tiafoe’s in mediocre form at the moment and was fortunate to get a retirement from Dan Evans while trailing 1-4 0-30 in round one.
Prediction: Monfils in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
