A few qualifying final picks from Stuttgart today, as these players try to earn a spot in the main draw on grass. Let's get into it.
Boss Open Stuttgart Qualifying Predictions
Sho Shimabukuro vs Jurij Rodionov
Head-to-head: Shimabukuro 0-2 Rodionov
The H2H makes this look like a Rodionov match, but both of his wins came on hard courts and grass is a different conversation entirely. Shimabukuro is the higher-ranked player by some distance and has been the more consistent performer on tour this season and I think that shows here on a surface that doesn't obviously favor either of them.
Rodionov at 158 in the world hasn't given much reason to back him, and Shimabukuro should find a way through even if it takes three sets.
Prediction: Shimabukuro in 3
Roman Safiullin vs Alexis Galarneau
Head-to-head: Safiullin 1-0 Galarneau
Safiullin is ranked 52 spots above Galarneau and has legitimate grass-court credentials, having gone deep at Wimbledon in the past. Galarneau is a decent player but his game doesn't translate especially well to fast surfaces, and Safiullin's flat ball-striking can be brutal on grass when he's on.
Hard to see this being competitive at all. That said, the only question is whether Galarneau makes it uncomfortable enough to push it to a third.
Prediction: Safiullin in 3
Marc-Andrea Huesler vs Gauthier Onclin
Head-to-head: First meeting
Huesler is ranked well below Onclin right now, sitting at 309 in the world after a rough stretch of results, but he's a former top-100 player who knows how to play on grass and Stuttgart is practically a home tournament for a Swiss player. Onclin at 182, who has struggled to make much of an impression on the grass-court circuit, has never really threatened on this surface and the conditions here should suit Huesler's serve-heavy game more than anything Onclin brings.
Feel like the ranking gap is misleading on this one. Huesler gets through, all things considered.
Prediction: Huesler in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Andrew Patron/ZUMA Press Wire