A few second-round picks from Bastad today, under clear skies and temperatures sitting around a comfortable 15°C or so. All three matches have some interesting angles, so let's get into it.
Nordea Open Predictions
Daniel Altmaier vs Luciano Darderi
Head-to-head: Altmaier 2-1 Darderi
The H2H actually favors Altmaier, which is easy to overlook given how much Darderi has improved over the past year. Altmaier is a tricky clay-court opponent, tall and consistent from the baseline and he's beaten Darderi twice before. But ranking tells a real story here, and at world number 18 Darderi is a genuinely different player now than the one who lost those two matches.
I think Darderi gets over the line, though Altmaier will make him work for it. This one goes the distance.
Prediction: Darderi in 3
Botic Van De Zandschulp vs Adolfo Daniel Vallejo
Head-to-head: First meeting
No prior meetings to lean on here, which makes this one genuinely hard to call. Van De Zandschulp has shown he can play well on clay but his results have been patchy for most of 2024 and into this season. Vallejo at 71 in the world isn't a household name, but clay suits his game and he's earned his ranking, mostly on the Challenger circuit, on this surface.
That said, Vallejo wins this in a match that probably goes the full three sets, all things considered.
Prediction: Vallejo in 3
Jesper De Jong vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-head: De Jong 0-1 Baez
Baez is one of the best clay-court grinders outside the top 30 and De Jong, despite being a solid clay player himself, is a level below on this surface. Hard to see this being competitive at all. Baez's game is built for slow conditions, and Bastad suits him well. De Jong will compete, but I feel like Baez controls this from the back and takes it in three fairly comfortably.
Prediction: Baez in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA Press Wire