It’s only a 250 but the ATP Doha Open promises some extremely enticing matches. On only the second day, we have last year’s Madrid Masters finalist Jan-Lennard Struff, veteran showman Gael Monfils and the magic of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on offer. We’re looking to predict these matches and more–there is another article with three matches from the day’s order of play.
ATP Doha Day 2 Predictions
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Christopher O’Connell
Head-to-head: 1-1
Jan-Lennard Struff is one of those players with the power to beat anybody but, on a less than average day, he can fall to anybody in the top 100. No disrespect to Christopher O’Connell but he fits that billing–the world #67 is a fantastic player but his peaks aren’t quite high enough to contend with the very best in the world.
Struff should be the one dictating the outcome of this. The big serve against the one-hander will probably give Struff a solid enough footing to take this one but the Aussie will probably still give himself plenty of chances.
Prediction: Struff in 3
Tallon Griekspoor vs Hugo Grenier
Head-to-head: first meeting
A big hitter like Hugo Grenier will have his fair share of upsets throughout his career but there’s no doubt that the Frenchman’s big weapons sometimes aren’t enough to expose his relatively lower rally tolerance. Tallon Griekspoor isn’t the sort of player to out-rally his opponents so this one could be close in moments. We still think the base level of Griekspoor is a little too high for Grenier to find a way through given the slightly slower conditions, however.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Jakub Mensik
Head-to-head: first meeting
Jakub Mensik keeps making all the right moves. His firepower is phenomenal so he won’t be perturbed by the flashiness of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Despite the Spaniard’s jaw-dropping skills, he can be overpowered on a hard court–the way he’s been playing, there’s no reason Mensik can’t pull off a fairly smooth upset here.
Prediction: Mensik in 2
Gael Monfils vs Botic van de Zandschulp
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is probably the toughest match to call. Both are capable of heroics on their respective days but neither are particularly reliable from match to match. If we look at form alone, it’s probably Botic van de Zandschulp that’s had the most recent success, two of his losses coming to Jannik Sinner this year, but there’s really not much in it. Gael Monfils is also the more likely of the two to be physically hampered so we’ll back the Dutchman by a whisker.
Predictionvan de Zandschulp in 3
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