The action comes thick and fast on Day 2 of the ATP 250 Winston-Salem Open. Monday promises plenty of intriguing matchups. First-round matches will be completed, and we will have separate articles for the rest of the day’s matches. We also have the rest of the day’s matches, in two separate articles. One features Steve Johnson vs Alexei Popyrin and the second features Egor Gerasimov vs Richard Gasquet.
ATP Winston-Salem Day 2 Predictions
Lorenzo Musetti vs Federico Coria
Head-to-head: first meeting
Lorenzo Musetti has shown us glimpses of his precocious talent this season. But it is quite unthinkable how his form has fallen off a cliff since his infamous French Open collapse at the hands of Novak Djokovic. He hasn’t won a match at four tournaments and only bagged a single set in those defeats. He was also forced out of Toronto qualifying for breaching COVID-19 protocols. Still, he is only 19 and it is all part of the learning process. I expect the Italian to bounce back in this one. Coria’s struggles on hard courts are well documented. The Argentine has recorded a single win all year and that doesn’t bode well.
Prediction: Musetti in 2
Jordan Thompson vs Guido Pella
Head-to-head: Thompson 1-0 Pella
Two months ago Jordan Thompson would have been licking his lips at the prospect of facing Guido Pella. In fact, the Aussie defeated Pella during that stretch on the lawns of Stuttgart. But I look at this matchup now and I am not entirely convinced Thompson could do it again. Pella is on salvage mode in this second half of the campaign. And he has secured two morale-boosting wins this past week at the Cincinnati Masters, beating David Goffin and Fabio Fognini in routine fashion. Thompson enters this contest as a marginal favorite, but Pella’s game is functioning again.
Prediction: Pella in 3
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Denis Kudla
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kudla has had a standout year, but his game is still best on grass. Ruusuvuori, on his part, comes to Winston-Salem on the back of some reasonable success on North American hard courts. The man from Finland made the semifinals in Atlanta, scoring wins over McDonald, Benoit Paire, and Cameron Norrie. He also knocked out Frances Tiafoe in the qualifying round of Toronto Masters. On current form, this match rests on Ruusuvuori’s racket.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
Ilya Ivashka vs Andreas Seppi
Head-to-head: first meeting
There is no doubt Ilya Ivashka has had a better season than Seppi. Although you could argue the Italian has managed to win a title this year at the Biella Challenger. Ivashka’s steady climb in the rankings has seen him become a regular on the main tour. He has only played one Challenger tournament this year, and instead committed himself to play tour-level tennis. Expect the higher-ranked Belarusian to ease his way into the second round.
Prediction: Ivashka in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
