We've got three picks from the Boss Open second round today, and honestly, there are some interesting results brewing on the Stuttgart grass. Who do you think makes it through?
Boss Open Stuttgart Predictions
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Alexander Bublik
Head-to-head: Struff 5-3 Bublik
Five wins out of eight is a genuinely remarkable record for a player ranked 77th against a top-15 opponent, and it tells you something real about how this matchup plays out. Struff's big serve and flat, direct hitting suits grass perfectly and he's the kind of player Bublik's inconsistency gets punished by when the Kazakh starts fishing for trick shots instead of playing straight tennis.
Bublik has the talent to win this on any given day, but given that head-to-head and the surface, Struff wins it, all things considered.
Prediction: Struff in 2
Ben Shelton vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: Shelton 2-1 Giron
Shelton is a big server on grass and the ranking gap looks massive on paper, but he hasn't been playing well lately and grass has never quite brought out the best in his game the way hard courts do. That said, Giron is quietly a solid grass-court performer and has nothing to lose coming into this one, which is exactly the kind of situation where upsets happen.
I feel like Giron's clean, efficient ball-striking keeps him in rallies long enough to exploit whatever Shelton gives away, and Shelton looks like he'll give away plenty right now.
Prediction: Giron in 2
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs Gauthier Onclin
Head-to-head: Perricard 1-1 Onclin
GMP's serve is genuinely terrifying on grass and he's the higher-ranked player by some distance, but that 1-1 head-to-head, which already put Onclin on the board against him, means Onclin knows he can beat him, and at ranking 186 he's clearly here on the strength of his game rather than his results. Hard to see Perricard just rolling through this one when he can be maddeningly streaky when his second serve starts misfiring, and Onclin is patient enough to make him pay for it over three sets.
Prediction: Onclin in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Marcin Cholewinski/ZUMA Press Wire