A few second-round picks from the HSBC Championships in London today, all indoors at the Queen's Club. Some interesting matchups here, including a couple of H2Hs that might surprise you.
HSBC Championships Predictions
Corentin Moutet vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: Moutet 0-4 Fokina
Four wins, zero losses for Fokina, and this one feels like more of the same. Moutet's game is built around slowing things down, creating weird angles, and frustrating players into errors, but Fokina's movement and willingness to engage in scrappy, physical rallies means that playbook rarely works against him. On grass, where Moutet's lefty serve gives him a bit more to play with, you could argue there's a sliver of hope, but four straight losses is a pattern, not a coincidence.
Prediction: Fokina in 3
Tommy Paul vs Botic Van De Zandschulp
Head-to-head: Paul 0-2 Zandschulp
Another 0-2 H2H for a player you'd expect to be winning that series, and Van De Zandschulp's grass game is genuinely underrated. He's big, he serves well and doesn't give you easy points from the back. That said, Paul is the better player right now and has been one of the more consistent Americans on tour over the past year, and I think the ranking gap eventually tells. Both of these previous meetings came on hard courts too, so the surface difference is real.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Rinky Hijikata vs Jiri Lehecka
Head-to-head: First meeting
Lehecka is one of the better grass-court movers on tour right now and has the big serve and flat ball-striking that suits this surface well. Hijikata, ranked 104th, is making his way and has some nice variety, but this is a significant step up in class. Hard to see this being competitive at all, and Lehecka should win this comfortably, all things considered.
Prediction: Lehecka in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Oscar Manuel Sanchez/ZUMA Press Wire