Five second-round matches have been scheduled for Thursday at the 2024 ATP Open 13 Provence in Marseilles, France. Top seed and defending champion Hubert Hurkacz kicks off his title defense against Alexander Shevchenko, who pushed him to a third-set tie-break in Dubai last year. Who do you think will advance?
ATP Marseille Day 4 Predictions
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Zhizhen Zhang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Felix Auger-Aliassime is playing a bit better this year and of course indoors is where his game should shine. Zhizhen Zhang might be looking for his first ATP Tour quarterfinal under the roof, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be dangerous either. The Chinese recovered very well from losing to World No. 1107 Sebastian Dominko in Davis Cup and looked great against Giulio Zeppieri in round one. On his day he’s capable of troubling anyone and he’ll force Auger-Aliassime to clutch it out here.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: Davidovich Fokina 2-0
It’s been an awesome start to the season for Emil Ruusuvuori, who made the final in Hong Kong and almost defeated Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. The Finn also beat Joao Sousa on the Davis Cup weekend and Luca Van Assche in the opening round here. He’s been such a solid top 100 player the past few years, but he’s got the potential to establish himself more in the top 30 area. Indoors, he might even be the favorite over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina right now.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 2
Sebastian Korda vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: Korda 1-0
Grigor Dimitrov has been unbelievably consistent in opening-round matches since the start of the 2023 season, winning 21 of his last 23. A stat like this might be fairly random, but it shows his consistency. The Bulgarian always goes fairly deep and once he started adding some huge highlights (Brisbane title, ATP 1000 Paris final), he basically entered his prime again. Sebastian Korda will need to produce a peak display to beat him and he didn’t look the part in his opener against Hugo Grenier.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 2
Jiri Lehecka vs Arthur Rinderknech
Head-to-head: Lehecka 1-0
Jiri Lehecka was 3-6 2-5 down to David Goffin in the opening round, but saved a match point and gained a second life in this event. Arthur Rinderknech scored a big win over Maxime Cressy and will be hoping to go on a bit of a run here as the last year or so hasn’t been pleasant for him, the Frenchman doing just enough to finish in the Top 100 (barely). Perhaps the 28-year-old can produce a big result at home and it feels like he’s due a strong win sometime soon.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 3
Hubert Hurkacz vs Alexander Shevchenko
Head-to-head: Hurkacz 1-0
Hubert Hurkacz is the defending champion in Marseille, having saved a match point against Mikael Ymer in last year’s edition. He should be perceived as one of the favorites to claim the title again, although his draw is rather tough round-by-round. Alexander Shevchenko pushed him in Dubai last year and loves intense rallies off the ground with pace coming at him that he can play off. It won’t be an easy match for Hurkacz, but he should keep his Marseille streak for now.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Albert Cesare-USA TODAY Sports
