Clay is not Alexander Bublik’s favourite surface. However, he is still the No. 2 seed at the ATP Lyon Open and will want to build some momentum before the French Open begins. The Kazakhstani begins his campaign on Day 3 at the Round of 16 stage, after receiving a bye in the previous round. Two of the remaining Round of 32 contests are also predicted in this article. We at LWOT also predict the other Day 3 matches in Lyon in a separate article, including Gael Monfils vs Yoshihito Nishioka.
ATP Lyon Day 3 Predictions
Lorenzo Sonego vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Head-to-head: First meeting
Sonego has had a mixed clay-court season so far. Last week, he reached the semifinal of the Challenger Tour event in Turin, suffering a surprising defeat to Francesco Passaro. Sonego starts as a strong favourite against the local wild card Mpetshi Perricard. The Frenchman has made considerable progress so far this year by winning three Challenger Tour titles. However, those were all on hard courts, which is where he produces his best tennis. Sonego’s superior movement and consistency is likely to take him to victory in this contest.
Prediction: Sonego in 2
Luciano Darderi vs Taro Daniel
Head-to-head: First meeting
Daniel is a tough player to hit through, especially on clay. Yet, Cordoba Open champion Darderi’s huge forehand is capable of doing that. Daniel will need to try and get into as many backhand-to-backhand exchanges as possible, which is where the Japanese player does have an edge. But that will be difficult to do on clay, where Darderi has more opportunities to run round and hit powerful forehands. That is a tough matchup for Daniel to overcome.
Prediction: Darderi in 2
Alexander Bublik vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-head: Vukic 1-0 Bublik
After a slow start to his clay-court season, Vukic has gained some momentum after dispatching Diego Schwartzman last week in Rome and Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round in Lyon. Both of these players have hard-hitting styles and there will be many short exchanges, even in the slow Lyon conditions. Bublik’s best level is the better of the two, even on his least favourite surface. He is mercurial and unpredictable, but his powerful serve is capable of exploiting Vukic’s return, which is one of the Australian’s weaker shots.
Prediction: Bublik in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
