Matteo Berrettini has been withdrawing from tournaments left and right more or less since May, only playing Wimbledon, where he lost to Kamil Majchrzak in five sets in the opening round. The Italian is back for the ATP 250 in Hangzhou and will face lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina in the opening round. Who do you think will prevail?
ATP Hangzhou Day 2 Predictions
Giulio Zeppieri vs Fajing Sun
Head-to-head: First meeting
Giulio Zeppieri qualified for Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, but has been struggling to reach the pre-injury heights on a weekly basis. However, this could be about to change. He’s now 8-1 since coming to Asia, winning the Shanghai Challenger and suffering the only loss to Nishesh Basavareddy via retirement the week after. Conditions suit him, his serve + 1 forehand combination is monstrous, and his movement seems more explosive again. Fajing Sun should not be a threat to him at the moment.
Prediction: Zeppieri in 2
Arthur Cazaux vs Matteo Arnaldi
Head-to-head: Arnaldi 1-0
Matteo Arnaldi has stagnated recently and while his game doesn’t seem to have declined, he’s losing a lot of winnable matches and still hasn’t gotten the hang of when he should try to blow the opponent off the court and when to rely on his defensive instincts and scrambling ability. This is a tough match and he desperately needs to catch a break. Perhaps if Arthur Cazaux focuses on the serve and attacking the net, it could give Arnaldi a bit more clarity of mind as to his gameplan.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 3
Matteo Berrettini vs Dalibor Svrcina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Dalibor Svrcina wasn’t competitive in the final qualifying round against one big-hitting Italian (Giulio Zeppieri); now he gets to face another. And the thing is with Matteo Berrettini not competing since Wimbledon (realistically even long before then, as he hasn’t been fit since April), you just can’t be sure what sort of level the former Top 10 player will bring. Svrcina has so much variety that he’ll be a pest to Berrettini either way, but let’s assume if the Italian shows up, then that means he feels like he can compete again.
Prediction: Berrettini in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
