Tennis: 2nd Round picks from France and Bulgaria + 3 bonus picks

2019 Open Sud de France
ATP Men’s Tournament
Montpellier, France
Second Round Picks

Jeremy Chardy over Antoine Hoang
This will be the initial meeting between the 23-year-old Hoang, and the 31-year-old Chardy, both Frenchmen. This will only be Hoang’s second main draw professional match, while Chardy, a seasoned veteran of 14 years in the professional ranks has played over 500. I just don’t see how Hoang, with his limited experience, will be able to overcome Chardy. Chardy, who lives in London, should take apart the ambidextrous Hoang and move on here.

Denis Shapovalov over Marcel Granollers
Want to see a really competitive match? This is it. These guys have never played before, and the 32-year-old Granollers, from Spain, has an edge in experience (he turned pro in 2003) and height, where he stands 6’3” to Shapovalov’s mere 6’. Additionally, Granollers came through a really tough first round match that could have gone either way, by beating Dr. Ivo (Ivo Karlovic) 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. But Shapovalov, who at 19-years-old is subject to inconsistency, even though he is ranked No. 25 in the world and is a clear comer, looked awfully good yesterday in winning a doubles match here. He should have enough confidence to go with his complete, exciting game to eke this one out.

Second Round bonus picks

Tomas Berdych over Benoit Paire
Berdych, now ranked just 79, is coming back from an injury layoff nicely. He seems to be playing well and dictating points, as he did against Matthias Bachinger in his first round three-set win here, and as he did in his race to the Round of 16 in the Australian Open where he beat Edmund, Haase, and Schwartzman. He’ll likely have his hands full with France’s Benoit Paire, who serves big and hits big. But Berdych holds a 3-0 lifetime mark against the 6’5” Paire, and I don’t see Paire beating Berdych here because they play pretty much the same game, but Berdych plays it better.

Lucas Pouille over Marcos Baghdatis
Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis has been playing professional tennis now for 16 years, and his best days are way behind him. He can still take sets from top players and cause a bit of a disturbance, but mostly he’s seen as a “good draw” now, as the top players use him almost as a sparring partner and for match play experience. He’s playing top-seeded Pouille here only because he qualified, and the 24-year-old Pouille, who is playing the best tennis of his life, should have little trouble dismissing the now-dimunitive (5’10”) Baghdatis.

2019 Sofia Open
ATP Men’s Tournament
Sofia, Bulgaria
Second Round picks

Roberto Bautista Agut over Matthew Ebden
Ebden had a nice win over Adrian Andreev in the first round, where he skated by, 7-6 in the third. And at age 31, he’s probably playing some of his best tennis. But Bautista Agut is just too good. He had a great run in the Australian Open, beating the new, hip-less Andy Murray, John Millman, and Karen Khachanov, before succumbing to Marin Cilic, the 6th seed, 6-4 in the fifth. All four of those guys are better than Ebden. Even though Bautista Agut likes a slower surface, his results in Melbourne show that he can play on the hard stuff too. He has a 1-0 lifetime record against Ebden, and he won’t fall here.

Stefanos Tsitsipas over Jan-Lennard Struff
The new Greek God, Tsitsipas, will unleash his exciting all court game here in Bulgaria against the very tough German, Jan-Lennard Struff. Tsitsipas should get through this one, but something tells me that this is going to be a really tough fight. Struff is playing well, and has confidence after winning this past weekend in the Davis Cup, even though it was in doubles. And I gotta believe that the series of five four-set matches that Tsitsipas played in Melbourne might be getting to him and he might be fatigued. But Tsitsipas had some free time with a bye in the first round, and didn’t play Davis Cup over the weekend, so maybe he had a few days to recharge his battery enough to roll here. I’d bet on it, but it will be close.

Karen Khachanov over Matteo Berrettini
The top-seeded and 11th ranked Karen Khachanov has something to prove. Seeded 10th at the Australian Open, he disappointed both his fans and those pundits who thought that he was a legitimate contender for the title by losing in the third round in straight sets to Roberto Bautista Agut. It wasn’t just the loss that perplexed people, but it was the way in which he went out, by not even taking a set from a player many thought was simply a slow court player. Well, this is his chance to begin redeeming himself, and beating Berrettini will be his first step. Berrettini had an unfortunate draw in the Australian Open, having to play Tsitsipas in the first round. But the 6’5” Italian put up a spirited fight losing in a tough four setter, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6, so he can play. The question in this match really will be: is Khachanov ready to dominate? This first head-to-head matchup between the two should be the first step in answering that question.

Bonus Second Round singles pick

Daniil Medvedev over Robin Haase
Medvedev, the 6’5” Russian who is currently ranked World No. 16 and is third-seeded here should take out the 54th ranked Haase. Medvedev holds a career 3-0 record over Haase with all three matches going the distance, but two of those matches took place in 2017 when Medvedev was only 20 years old. Since then, the Russian has matured into one of the more dangerous players on Tour, and his solid game should be enough to overcome, once again perhaps in three sets, the tough Dutchman.

DOUBLES, first round

Mate Pavic and Nenad Zimonjic over Rohan Bopanna and Divij Saran
If you want to see how doubles is played, this is the match to watch. Bopanna and Saran are coming off a nice win in this past weekend’s Davis Cup tie with Italy in which they accounted for the only win the Indian team posted. These guys are veteran doubles players and play together really well, and are on their game. But they are playing a Croat and a Serbian who over the past year have each been ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles. Don’t let Zimonjic’s age fool you. Even at 42 (!!) he has quick hands, and at 6’3” has the serve and the length to dominate. He is a consummate professional, and has been for 24 years now. He is the perfect partner for the 25-year-old, 6’3” Pavic, who has young legs, a career 192-113 doubles record and 13 doubles titles already under his belt. Additionally, he finished 2018 as one of the pair that won the year’s ATP World Tour’s Doubles championship. This should be a great match that could go either way, especially because of the doubles format they use now. Instead of playing out a third set, at one set apiece they play a 10-point championship tie-breaker for the match, and I’d bet that this match is decided by one.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja over Robert Galloway and Nathaniel Lammons
If you want proof that Americans can’t play doubles any more, look no farther than this match. Neither of these four players are household names having not achieved large successes in singles. But the Indian team are accomplished doubles players and the Americans are, well . . . Americans. The Indians will dominate with their steady returns-of-serve and quick hands at net. The Americans, who are trying to make a living on the doubles tour, will have to wait until next week to get a “W”, when they might get a better draw.