Third seed Karen Khachanov takes on Seong-chan Hong with talented Italian youngsters Flavio Cobolli and Mattia Bellucci also competing on Wednesday at the ATP Citi Open in Washington, D.C. And that’s just a small part of the extremely stacked order of play. Who do you think will make the third round?
ATP Washington Day 3 Predictions
David Goffin vs Flavio Cobolli
Head-to-head: First meeting
Flavio Cobolli is coming over from Umag where he delivered an incredible performance against Mariano Navone, but then ended up losing to Dusan Lajovic in the second round. The Italian is attacking off his forehand like never before and it’s taken his game off-clay to a completely new level. This style can be a bit inconsistent though and David Goffin will be in decent rhythm with a few matches in the States already. But the former Top 10 player hasn’t been doing anything spectacular recently and maybe Cobolli can get himself into it gradually.
Prediction: Cobolli in 3
Alex Michelsen vs Mattia Bellucci
Head-to-head: First meeting
Mattia Bellucci turned over a new leaf when he qualified for Roland Garros and since then he’s been finally showing that Top 100 potential. Making the Atlanta quarterfinals last week was a major step forward for him and he has already backed it up in Washington as well. All that despite a very short turnaround as he had to qualify for this event. He might actually have some more tricks up his sleeve and with Alex Michelsen not having that overwhelming power to blow you off the court (at least not yet), maybe it’s a matchup his tennis can thrive in.
Prediction: Bellucci in 3
Karen Khachanov vs Seong-chan Hong
Head-to-head: First meeting
Seong-chan Hong will be drafted into the military at the end of this season and it seems like the knowledge of this year being his last before the 18-month break has been allowing him to play a bit more freely. Getting that main tour win over Adam Walton is a great reward, even though it came in a match with two rather underpowered players. Karen Khachanov’s weight of shot should be a bit too much for Hong, but the Russian also hasn’t had a deep run in a while and needs to get something going soon.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
