Day 2 at the ATP event in Bastad should bring plenty of tight and exciting matches, with several players looking to add some valuable points to their ranking in this European clay swing. With the tournament being played the week after Wimbledon, the field isn’t exactly stacked with top players (although Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, both Top 10 players, are here) but it features a lot of players who are very skilled and comfortable on the clay. On Day 2, Alexander Zverev, still looking to regain his pre-injury form, is the biggest name featured. We also look at the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
ATP Bastad Day 2 Predictions
Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs Alexander Shevchenko
Head-to-head: Shevchenko 2-0 Cerundolo
This should be a very tight match; the two players have roughly the same level and ranking and even if Shevchenko has the head-to-head lead their match in the Madrid Masters qualifying was very tightly contested. It should once again be a tight match, with little to separate the two players.
Prediction: Shevchenko in 3
Matteo Arnaldi vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should be another very tight match; Ruusuvuori is on a four match losing streak, but he’ll be hoping that clay will bring him some better luck than grass. Arnaldi is a very good player on this surface, however, and should be considered the slight favorite going into this one.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 3
Hugo Dellien vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles
Head-to-head: first meeting
Delien had work really hard to get past the qualifying stage, while Zapata Miralles is fresh off a Challenger final defeat on clay. That said, all things considered Zapata Miralles should have the edge here as he’s generally the more solid player overall and tends to be well on clay.
Prediction: Zapata Miralles in 2
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Sebastian Ofner vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ofner is fresh off a Challenger clay title, but he’s now facing one of the most improved players of the year. Etcheverry has much such strides this year that he even reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. He looks set to have a very promising claycourt career going forward and should be able to prevail here.
Prediction: Etcheverry in 2
Alexander Zverev vs Alex Molcan
Head-to-head: Zverev 1-0 Molcan
The pair faced recently on clay at Roland Garros and Zverev won rather easily en route to the semifinals. He should once again have little issues against Molcan here; Zverev seems to be close to reaching his pre-injury level and a title here would do wonders for his confidence.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
