More predictions for Day 2 of the ATP Lyon 250, as players gear up for the French Open. It is a French-heavy draw, with the classic Gilles Simon making an appearance, along with some exciting foreign newcomers, such as Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Who will continue to rise? See our picks below.
ATP Lyon Day 2 Predictions
Soonwoo Kwon vs Aljaz Bedene
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bedene has been trending in the wrong direction for the last year, and hasn’t been on court much this season. Kwon might be a fortuitous draw for him, as the Korean has been playing poorly of late. But Kwon has had a decent enough year overall, and beaten several players at a well higher level than Bedene. That said, the Korean is mainly a hard court player, whereas Bedene not only has much more experience on clay, but has been a veritable star on the Challenger tour, amassing 11 clay court titles. Kwon should pull this out, but Bedene could give him a run.
Prediction: Kwon in 3
Lucas Pouille vs Oscar Otte
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a poor start to the year, Oscar Otte has picked up his game over the last couple tournaments. These include wins over the high-ranked but struggling Aslan Karatsev, and world #17 Reilly Opelka. Meanwhile, Pouille has played mostly on the Challenger tour, and has struggled greatly to get back to form after an elbow injury and surgery. I made the mistake of picking against Otte recently, when the German was faced with low-level competition, and he came out firing. I expect the same here, but I can’t pick it in two because of Pouille recently beating Karen Khachanov quite handily.
Prediction: Otte in 3
Sebastian Baez vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Head-to-head: first meeting
Sebastian Baez is the new Diego Schwartzman, and the 21-year old has been playing his best tennis in 2022. He’s risen over 50 places since January to his career high of 37. The Argentine loves clay, and has been playing the surface almost exclusively since his Futures days. It’s worked out well for him, garnering him a 13-6 record on clay this year, with a title last month in Estoril, and a finals appearance in Santiago. He should be considered one of the rising stars on the dirt.
Meanwhile, he is playing his stretched-out counterpart, 6’5” Argentinian Etcheverry. The taller Baez is also a clay court exclusivist, and has been rising equally steadily, though is just breaking onto the ATP tour at a slightly older age. The countrymen are well-acquainted with each other in Futures competition, having played four matches in 2019, all on clay, and split down the middle. Baez is the better player at the moment, and his win over Marin Cilic in Estoril demonstrates that he has the capability to play bigger competition, and he gets the nod in what should be a good match.
Prediction: Baez in 3
Karen Khachanov vs Gilles Simon
Head-to-head: Khachanov 2-1 Simon
Khachanov is slumping hard. He played decently to start the season, but has not been on track over the last couple months. One wonders whether political events have taken their emotional toll on the Russian (his countrymen Aslan Karatsev has suffered a similar decline this year.) But he receives a fortuitous draw in Gilles Simon, whose quality career has been on definite decline the last couple years.
Simon is a Challenger player now, and despite having homefield advantage, shouldn’t pose much of an obstacle to the Russian. Khachanov won their lone matchup on clay, and both have performed well here in Lyon before, Khachanov reaching the semis last year, and Simon the finals in 2018. But Simon is no longer the same, and Khachanov should power through him despite the recent struggles.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
