The ATP’s Asian swing in the autumn months moves to China. Players are trying to gather momentum for the larger (500-point and 1,000-point) tournaments that lie ahead. So far, we’ve seen some early results before we’ve got our tennis picks going. Benoit Pare needed three sets to advance yesterday and so did Mikhail Kukushkin. Meanwhile, Inigo Cervantes and Janko Tipsarevic each won in straight sets to get to the second round.
Who will escape the early rounds and get a chance to polish their game for the rest of the coming week? Here is a look at our tennis picks for the early rounds, specifically the action on Tuesday.
Ryan Harrison vs Guillermo Garcia Lopez
Ryan Harrison, long earmarked as the next big thing in American tennis before he completely fell off the radar, earned the biggest victory of his career when he shocked Milos Raonic to make his first third round at a major tournament in 20 appearances. After dropping the first set in the tiebreaker, he fought back to win in four sets. Four years ago, Harrison had jumped to 43rd in the ATP rankings but receded quickly and dropped well out of top 150. Harrison spends most of his time in the Challenger circuit and it’s helped him to improve his form and ranking.
The American is successfully through to the main draw, where he faces Garcia Lopez in the first round. He enjoys a 2-0 head-to-head record with both his wins coming in straight sets at Indian Wells in 2011 and 2012. Harrison is also the in form player, winning seven of his last 10 matches. On the other hand, Garcia Lopez has not reached a singles final since falling to Tomas Berdych here last year. The three-name Spaniard is having a disastrous season by his standards. He is a dismal 22-26 on the year and has lost six of his last 10 matches. I can’t see the 33-year-old veteran reversing his fortunes against the resurgent American. Harrison is the better option for your tennis picks.
Prediction: Harrison in three sets
Pablo Andujar vs Jiri Vesely
Pablo Andujar has had a frustrating season. The Spaniard went under the knife in March and is appearing at his first ATP event since that surgery. Jiri Vesely has two top-10 wins this year but still hasn’t found the way to win consistently on the ATP tour. The 6-foot-6 Czech surprised the tennis world when he beat the dominant world No.1 Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo but couldn’t go deep in to the tournament. Vesely’s second top-10 win came against red hot Domnic Thiem in the second round at Wimbledon. It was a shocker. He went on to make the last 16, his best performance at a major, where he lost to fellow Czech Tomas Berdych in five tight sets.
At the U.S. Open, Vesely won a hard fought five-set thriller against Indian qualifier Saketh Myneni, but unfortunately he had to pull out because of left forearm inflammation. Vesely has had some memorable moments this year but is 18-20 on the season. Still, he should fancy beating Andujar, who has hardly played any tennis this year. Take Vesely with your tennis picks in this one.
Prediction: Vesely in straight sets
Lukas Rosol vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Both Lukas Rosol and Mikhail Kukushkin are experiencing a horrendous season. Both participated in St. Petersburg last week and both checked out early. Kukushkin had to retire down a set and 1-4 to floppy-haired Russian youngster Andrey Rublev while Rosol went down to the U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. Both are amazing ball strikers but are ridiculously frustrating and inconsistent. In the career head-to-heads, they’ve split the four meetings. While Rosol dominated him in two Challenger events in 2009, the Kazakh has been superior in the ATP meetings, comfortably winning in Sydney and Moscow in 2011. It’s hard to pick a winner. Rosol can hit a little bit bigger – in an early round match, players might be a little more energized, so Rosol might be able to sustain focus longer. Rosol is the better option for your tennis picks.
Prediction: Rosol in three sets
