Day 2 of the ATP Munich 250 brings us an interesting first round matchup that would be the biggest upset we’ve seen in a while, as a player outside the top 700 takes on a player inside the top 100. Who will prevail? We offer our predictions, split between this and a separate article.
ATP Munich Day 2 Predictions
Oscar Otte vs Marko Topo
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is the most interesting match of Round 1. Marko Topo is an 18-year-old Serbian ranked #756 in the world who plays mainly Futures tournaments. Yet he came through qualifying with excellent wins over Henri Laaksonen and Norbert Gombos, both ranked around 100. Otte has little experience on clay at the ATP level, but has a good clay win percentage in Challengers, although his experience and success on the surface are comparable to both Laaksonen and Gombos. Experience is nil for Topo (he has played only three Challenger Tour matches in his nascent career), but his momentum is good. Most signs point to Otte here, but I like that the young Serb is warmed up already with some comparable wins—though Otte’s recent victory over Aslan Karatsev makes me want to re-think my pick…
Prediction: Topo in 3
Botic Van de Zandschulp vs Brandon Nakashima
Head-to-head: first meeting
This one should go the way of the Dutchman. Van de Zandschulp is a decent clay court player (though his ATP experience is limited), while his American opponent is almost entirely a hard court player. Nakashima has a total of fourteen clay matches played, over Futures, Challengers, and ATP combined. Botic has also been the better player in general, and is more experienced while still being in his prime. So it’s hard to see how a completely green player will find an open door on the dirt here.
Prediction: Van de Zandschulp in 2
Mackenzie McDonald vs Ilya Ivashka
Head-to-head: McDonald 2-1 Ivashka
This is the fourth meeting between these two, if you include a qualifier last year, and Ivashka has won both clay matches. He is slightly the better player on clay in general, though neither is very experienced on the surface. McDonald has had a decent season with some good wins, but his success has come on hard court. Ivashka, for his part, has not played much, but the Belarussian made it to the semis of Munich last year, including a win over McDonald. This should be a defensive matchup with long rallies, and I see the big Ivashka being able to hit through the court better.
Prediction: Ivashka in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
