A few first-round picks from Gstaad today, where it's clear and warm with temperatures reaching 77°F, perfect conditions for clay-court tennis in the Swiss Alps. We've got three matches to get into, including what might be the most surprising head-to-head stat of the week. So let's get into it.
EFG Swiss Open Gstaad Predictions
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Ignacio Buse
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 0-1 Buse
Tsitsipas at 87 in the world is a wild thing to type, and the ranking tells the story of how badly things have fallen apart for him. He's not just struggling with form, he's lost matches he never would have dropped two or three years ago, and Buse is exactly the kind of opponent who can make things very uncomfortable. The Peruvian is ranked 34th, playing some of the best tennis of his career, and he's already beaten Tsitsipas once before.
Buse is a natural clay-courter and Gstaad suits his game, grinding from the baseline and making opponents beat him. Tsitsipas can still produce big tennis on his best days but his best days have been rare, and I don't think this is where that changes.
Prediction: Buse in 3
Pedro Martinez Portero vs Yannick Hanfmann
Head-to-head: Portero 1-3 Hanfmann
Hanfmann leads this rivalry 3-1 and at 56 in the world he's comfortably the higher-ranked player against a Portero who's been slipping down the rankings lately. Hanfmann is a big server who can be a real handful on slower clay when his first ball is working, and Gstaad at altitude tends to play a little faster than most clay events, which helps him.
That said, Portero has the one win in the head-to-head so he knows he can do it, but the ranking gap is real and Hanfmann should be comfortable here.
Prediction: Hanfmann in 3
Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs Zdenek Kolar
Head-to-head: First meeting
Cerundolo is the obvious favorite here. He's 42 in the world, a genuine clay specialist, and Kolar at 154, a long way below the ranking he held when he was causing upsets a couple of years back, is hard to see troubling him much. Cerundolo has been a consistent presence on clay all season and this is the kind of match he should be wrapping up in straight sets, though three-setters have a habit of happening in Gstaad where the conditions can shift and the altitude makes the ball fly, all things considered.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Irina R. Hipolito/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire