The 2023 ATP Tokyo Open kicks off its singles main draw action with six matches on Monday’s schedule. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Aleksandar Vukic. But who will book their spot in the second round?
ATP Tokyo Day 1 Predictions
Sebastian Ofner vs Christopher O’Connell
Head-to-head: O’Connell 1-0 Ofner
Sebastian Ofner’s magic from the first half of the season hasn’t fully disappeared, but it seems like there’s definitely less and less of it with every month. He lost his only previous meeting with Christopher O’Connell, but that was via retirement after just six games. The Australian usually shines in the Asian swing though and even this year, he’s already clinched a Challenger title in Shanghai and made a main tour quarterfinal in Chengdu. O’Connell will be a very tough out here.
Prediction: O’Connell in 2
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Alexander Zverev vs Jordan Thompson
Head-to-head: Zverev 2-0 Thompson
Alexander Zverev got blown out by Roman Safiullin in Shanghai, but to be fair that was a spectacular performance from the Russian and the World No. 10 had the right to be a bit tired after a long couple of weeks. To truly cement his status as maybe one of the five/six best players in the world at the moment, he needs to keep producing. Jordan Thompson is a tricky rival who’s made massive improvements to his game over the years, but Zverev has to be winning matches like this if he aims to contend for big titles soon.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
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Tommy Paul vs Daniel Altmaier
Head-to-head: first meeting
A very solid campaign with a couple of highlights has propelled Tommy Paul to World No. 12 this year. The American absolutely belongs up there as one of the best hard-court players in the world (and he’s not too shabby on other surfaces either). Daniel Altmaier has a decent serve, but he tends to shine on the dirt with his grinding playstyle. Paul should be able to take time away and force the rallies into patterns that he enjoys and the German has issues with.
Prediction: Paul in 2
Main photo credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
