Day two at the Tokyo Olympics should feature plenty of exciting tennis with 16 first-round matches on the schedule. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every scheduled match including Andy Murray vs Felix Auger-Aliassime, Kei Nishikori vs Andrey Rublev and Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Stefanos Tsitsipas. But who will reach the second round in the Japanese capital?
Tokyo Olympics Day 2 Predictions
Gael Monfils vs Ilya Ivashka
Not for the first time, Gael Monfils’ saw his Wimbledon campaign come to a disappointing end. But the Frenchman should be more comfortable on the hard courts in Tokyo. But even so, this has been a season to forget for Monfils, whilst Ilya Ivashka has played some very fine tennis at times. The Belarusian should be able to pull of the upset here.
Prediction: Ivashka in 3
Yesh: Monfils just got married, but his tennis has been struggling all year (though improving recently). Ivashka is in the best stretch of form in his career, and his serve is very tough to break. Look for an upset alert here.
Prediction: Ivashka in 3
Jack: Monfils got married last week, a welcome distraction from his Olympic preparations but still a distraction. Contrastingly, Ivashka is in red-hot form and has the firepower to catch Monfils off-guard. For me, form suggests Ivashka is going to come out on top here.
Prediction: Ivashka in 2
Damian: There have been some nice events in Monfils’ life recently (not least his recent marriage), but simply not out there on the court. Ivashka is having a brilliant season and gave tough challenges to players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Definite upset alert.
Prediction: Ivashka in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Alexander Zverev vs Lu Yen-hsun
Jim: Aside from his considerable (and serious) off-court issues, Alexander Zverev has had a fine season, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the last four in Paris. A deep run at the Olympics looks to be well-within reach for the German and this is a kind first-round draw. Expect him to take advantage.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Yesh: Zverev is playing well this year and got a gift of a draw. Don’t expect a battle in this one.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Jack: By virtue of his protected ranking, Lu is making his fifth appearance in an Olympic Games singles draw, the most of any singles player in Olympic tennis history. That’s where the record breaking likely stops, however, as Zverev is finally starting to get into the groove of defeating lower-ranked opponents.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Damian: Lu’s farewell tour is coming to an end. With just one match win this season, the Taiwanese isn’t expected to do anything of note in Tokyo, especially now that he’s drawn the absolute powerhouse that is the fourth seed Zverev.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Tomas Machac vs Joao Sousa
Jim: This is a big opportunity for both of these men to reach the second round at the Olympics. But it is surely Tomas Machac who is better placed to take advantage of it. The Czech may not boast as much experience as Joao Sousa, but he has been in much better form over the past two years than the Portuguese, who seems to be in terminal decline.
Prediction: Machac in 3
Yesh: This match could be close, but it won’t be elite quality. That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun, though, as both players are pretty evenly matches.
Prediction: Sousa in 3
Jack: Tomas Machac, a 20-year-old Czech player, will be raring to go. Joao Sousa has lost a lot of momentum recently having lost a lot of matches. A mature character for his age, Machac won’t be overawed by the occasion and will take advantage of the Portuguese’s poor form.
Prediction: Machac in 2
Damian: Sousa hasn’t been quite himself since the pandemic broke out and doesn’t look like his struggles are about to finish at the Tokyo Olympics. Even with a very good draw like this, it’s hard to see him progressing past Machac.
Prediction: Machac in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Norbert Gombos vs Marcos Giron
Jim: Marcos Giron played some solid tennis to reach the third round at the French Open and the quarterfinals in Halle, but the American’s form has been fairly inconsistent. Still, this is a match he should be winning. Norbert Gombos has had a fine season on the clay, but has struggled away from the ‘terre battue’ and was well-beaten by Giron when they met earlier this season in Rotterdam.
Prediction: Giron in 2
Yesh: Giron has been producing some great performances at big events this year, and a lot of American withdrawals gave him an opportunity in Tokyo. He’ll take full advantage.
Prediction: Giron in 2
Jack: Marcos Giron beat Norbert Gombos at the Rotterdam 500 event earlier this year – since then, his form has only gotten better whilst Gombos’ has remained fairly static. Giron’s plucky game will be enough to sweep past Gombos.
Prediction: Giron in 2
Damian: The two have the same amount of wins this season, but Giron’s made a couple more of them in tour-level main draws (nine to seven). Very tight call, but the American won this matchup in straight sets in Rotterdam, and not that much has changed since that encounter.
Prediction: Giron in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
