Day 2 of the ATP Hall of Fame Championships will see seven matches take place, including the debut of former champion Ivo Karlovic. We predict four of the matches in this article and the other three in a separate article.
ATP Newport Day 2 Predictions
Yasutaka Uchiyama vs Sebastian Ofner
Head-to-head: Ofner 1-0 Uchiyama
Both players lost in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying, but only Uchiyama was lucky enough to make the main draw as a lucky loser, only to lose in the 1st round to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets. Overall, Ofner has shown more in this grass season, even coming incredibly close to beating Marin Cilic at Queens and he should be the favorite to prevail here.
Prediction: Ofner in 2
Brayden Schnur vs Jason Jung
Head-to-head: Schnur 1-1 Jung
Another match between two players who lost in Wimbledon qualifying. Both players have little to no pedigree on this surface and it’s very hard to call a winner, which bookies agree with. Schnur has played the qualifying here in Newport and comes into this match on the back of the two consecutive wins, which might give him the confidence to pull through here.
Prediction: Schnur in 3
João Sousa vs Tennys Sandgren
Head-to-head: Sousa 1-1 Sandgren
Both players have been struggling for a while and have had identically poor grass court seasons so far; Sandgren did win a match at Wimbledon against Norbert Gombos before getting routined by Alexander Zverev in the second round, though, and his game should theoretically give him the edge over the Portuguese on this surface.
Prediction: Sandgren in 2
Ivo Karlovic vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles
Head-to-head: first meeting
The 2016 champion is always a threat on grass with his unbelievable, arguably best of all time, serve, but at 42 years old it’s highly questionable whether he still has anything left in the tank. Karlovic has only won one match all season and he lost in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying without even forcing a tiebreak, which is always surprising against any opponent when you consider the potency of his serve. Zapata Miralles on the other hand played well at Wimbledon, coming close to upsetting the seeded Garin; he should be considered the clear favorite for this match, although all bets are off if Karlovic’s serve is anywhere near his best.
Prediction: Zapata Miralles in 3
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
