The ATP clay court season begins in earnest this week with tournaments in Houston and Marrakesh. And no shortage of big names have made the trip to Morocco for the Grand Prix Hassan II, looking to find their feet on the terre battue before crucial Masters events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. But who will advance on day two?
Jiri Vesely vs Fabio Fognini
Head-to-head: 1-3
Fognini made a spur of the moment decision to travel to Marrakesh, surely due to his poor start to the year. He comes into the clay court season with five losses in his previous six matches. Vesely hasn’t really been playing to his potential either. But he’s already got some clay matches under his belt and played well in Marbella, reaching the quarterfinals, though he came up just short against Mario Vilella Martinez in the first round last week in Alicante. This match looks likely to be determined by which Fognini shows up, which based on the way he has played so far does not seem likely to be him at his best, although he has beaten the Czech on clay twice without reply. Expect Vesely to pull off the upset then, but Fognini does have the game to win.
Prediction: Vesely in three
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Federico Delbonis vs Pablo Andujar
Head-to-head: 0-5
Andujar’s biggest obstacle in this match is likely to be fatigue. The Spaniard arrives in Morocco in great form, having captured two challenger titles in a row and is the defending champion at the Grand Prix Hassan II, where he also picked up titles in 2011 and 2012. He also has a commanding head to head lead over Delbonis, having won all five of their previous meetings, which all came on this surface. Delbonis is a dangerous opponent, however, and pushed world #1 Novak Djokovic to three sets at the Miami Open. But Andujar has had his number in the past and if he’s fresh, he should have enough to advance fairly comfortably.
Prediction: Andujar in two
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Alexander Zverev vs Denis Istomin
Head-to-head: 1-0
Zverev decided to compete at the Grand Prix Hassan II after a very disappointing Sunshine Double, which was impacted by his struggles with a viral illness. His fitness and form remain very much in question. Istomin, meanwhile, would never usually be considered anything other than a dangerous opponent. However, the Uzbek has had his own share of physical issues recently nor is he at his best on the red clay, though he did reach the final in Kitzbuhel last season (lost to Klizan). Zverev should have enough power and accuracy to win this battle of the big-hitters, which is their first clay-court clash.
Prediction: Zverev in two
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Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: First meeting
The last month has been very up and down for Kohlschreiber. He defeated Nick Kyrgios and Djokovic en route to the fourth round in Indian Wells, only to suffer a crushing defeat there at the hands of Gael Monfils, picking up slight injury in the process. His play in Marrakech has also been historically uneven. He finished as runner-up in 2017, losing a heartbreaking final to Borna Coric in which he wasted five match points. But last year, he was ousted in the first round by veteran wild card Lamine Ouahab, then ranked outside the top 500. Spain’s Davidovich Fokina, just 19, is still very raw, but played well in March clay court challengers and should pose Kohlschreiber a real test. However, expect Kohlschreiber’s experience to win out in the end, even if he has to go the distance.
Prediction: Kohlschreiber in three
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