Day 2 in Monaco is loaded with more mouth-watering clashes on the cards. Who will advance on the dirt of Monaco? As always, we here at LWOS are offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Arthur Fils vs Adrian Mannarino and Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Laslo Djere. But who will advance?
ATP Monte Carlo Day 2 Predictions
Matteo Arnaldi vs Sumit Nagal
Head-to-head: first meeting
Sumit Nagal has crept his way into the top #100 courtesy of an 8-match winning streak that culminated in a Challenger title win on the hardcourts of Chennai earlier in the year. His qualification for this event is even more remarkable after he defeated seasoned clay court players Flavio Cobolli and Facundo Diaz Acosta to berth in the main draw and he’ll be more motivated to grab his first win at this level against a player who hasn’t hit the dirt this season.
Prediction: Nagal in 3
Grigor Dimitrov vs Valentin Vacherot
Head-to-head: first meeting
Regardless of the gulf in ranking, Valentin Vacherot could have taken this match to the Bulgarian if it was on hardcourts. While both players don’t prefer the dirt, Grigor Dimitrov is by far the more experienced player at this level and he’ll be looking to continue his excellent season with a deep run in this event. His new hairdo should get the Monte Carlo fans behind him.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 2
Roman Safiullin vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: Safiullin 1-0 Munar
Even though Roman Safiullin won eight of the 12 matches he played on clay last year, it’ll be difficult not to back Jaume Munar who has the same stats already this year and should be match sharp after his successful qualifying campaign this week at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters. Expect the Spaniard to level their head-to-head in their first meeting on this surface.
Prediction: Munar in 2
Karen Khachanov vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: Khachanov 3-3 Norrie
As the head-to-head suggests, this is poised to be a close battle between two players who know each other well. The Russian will pit his firepower against Camerono Norrie’s defensive abilities in a match that promises to go the whole hog. They’ve traded their meetings but I’ll back Karen Khachanov to even their record on clay. He’s got the better serve and the Englishman hasn’t defeated a top-20 player on clay this season.
Prediction: Khachanov in 3
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
