Ten men’s singles matches are planned for Monday at the 2024 ATP Citi Open in Washington, D.C. Emil Ruusuvuori takes on Borna Coric, while struggling J.J. Wolf gets one of the hardcore clay specialists in Federico Coria. Who do you think will advance to the next stage of the event? We also predict the rest of the day’s matches in Washington, split between two other articles. One features Denis Shapovalov vs Roberto Bautista Agut and the other features Reilly Opelka vs James Duckworth.
ATP Washington Day 1 Predictions
Mattia Bellucci vs Mackenzie McDonald
Head-to-head: First meeting
How much will Mattia Bellucci have left in the tank? The Italian was still playing in the Atlanta quarterfinals late on Friday before having to get through the qualifying in Washington. He did that all in style with a win over Leandro Riedi in almost three hours and has been on top of his game more or less since the French Open qualifying. With Mackenzie McDonald still looking for his ideal form after the injury hiatus, maybe the run of the extremely versatile Bellucci isn’t over yet.
Prediction: Bellucci in 3
Adam Walton vs Seong-chan Hong
Head-to-head: First meeting
We’re already seeing some early signs that while Adam Walton completely dominated Challengers in Asia and Australia, taking that playstyle to the main tour will be a completely different challenge. But this is a perfect matchup for him. Seong-chan Hong doesn’t have much to hurt him with and will have to engage with Walton in a grueling baseline battle. The Australian just doesn’t miss in situations like that and Hong’s quality is something he is used to.
Prediction: Walton in 2
Federico Coria vs J.J. Wolf
Head-to-head: First meeting
The North American hard court summer was supposed to be where J.J. Wolf returns to form and it’s not working out so far. He couldn’t win a title or make a final in the few Challengers he appeared in, now he’s also struggling in main tour appearances. But Federico Coria is one of the best draws you can possibly get in this part of the season. Wolf struggled to return Arthur Rinderknech’s serve in any reliable manner last week, here he’ll have a lot more margin for error even if a few attempts to unleash won’t go in.
Prediction: Wolf in 2
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Borna Coric
Head-to-head: Coric 1-0
Who out of these two players in mediocre form is showing more signs of life? Probably Ruusuvuori, and the Finn has some good memories from beating Hurkacz in Washington two years ago. He hasn’t played since Wimbledon unlike Coric, but the loss to Harold Mayot last week will not have helped the Croat that much in terms of finding his rhythm. Seems like at the moment it’s Ruusuvuori who can produce stronger tennis on the day if he can keep the error count in check.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
