Citi Open 2023 Day 2: Men's singles predictions ft. Hubert Hurkacz vs Michael Mmoh
Day 2 of the Citi Open will see the first round of the men's singles tournament continue while some second-round fixtures will take place too.
Fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz will start his tournament against Michael Mmoh in the second round while Grigor Dimitrov will be up against Mackenzie McDonald. Kei Nishikori, the 2015 champion, will take on Lloyd Harris in the opening round while Kevin Anderson will face Jordan Thompson.
The likes of Sebastian Korda, Ben Shelton and Brandon Nakashima will also be in action on Tuesday. On that note, let's take a look at the predictions for some of the matches that will take place on Day 2 of the Citi Open.
#1 Hubert Hurkacz vs Michael Mmoh
Fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz will face Michael Mmoh in the second round of the Citi Open. It will be the very first meeting between the two.
The Pole received a bye into the second round of the ATP 500 event while Mmoh beat compatriot Bradley Klahn 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round. Hurkacz has won 25 out of 40 matches so far this season, while the American has triumphed in only eight out of 15 main-draw fixtures.
Both players are good servers and will look to dominate their service games. However, Hurkacz's stamina, groundstrokes, counterpunching skills, and better run of form should see him get the better of Mmoh and reach the third round of the Citi Open.
Predicted Winner: Hubert Hurkacz
#2 Grigor Dimitrov vs Mackenzie McDonald
Fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov will face Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Citi Open. It will be the third meeting between the two, with their head-to-head currently tied at 1-1.
Dimitrov received a bye into the second round of the tournament in Washington by virtue of being one of the 16 seeds while McDonald beat Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round.
The Bulgarian has won 23 out of 36 matches so far this season while the American came out on top in 21 out of 39. Dimitrov will enter the match as the favorite to win and while McDonald should not be written off, the 32-year-old is likelier to come out on top.
Predicted Winner: Grigor Dimitrov
#3 Ben Shelton vs Juncheng Shang
Fourteenth seed Ben Shelton will take on Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang in the second round of the Citi Open. It will be the second meeting between the two, with Shang beating the American 6-4, 6-4 in Atlanta last week.
Shelton received a bye into the second round of the ATP 500 event as he is among the seeded players. Shang, on the other hand, beat Emilio Gomez 6-3, 6-3 in the first round.
The American has won 13 out of 33 matches so far in 2023 while the Chinese has triumphed in three out of seven main-draw meetings. Shang did beat Shelton in their meeting last week but if the latter can play at his best, he should be able to get the win and reach the third round in Washington.
Predicted winner: Ben Shelton
#4 Sebastian Korda vs Alexander Shevchenko
Eighth seed Sebastian Korda will face Alexander Shevchenko in the second round of the Citi Open. It will be the very first meeting between the two.
Korda received a walkover into the second round of the ATP 500 event, while Shevchenko beat Maxime Cressy 6-3, 7-6(8) in the first round. The former has won 12 out of 19 matches so far in 2023 while the latter has won only seven out of 15 fixtures.
Korda is gradually finding his rhythm after a few disappointing results during the claycourt season. He will enter the match as the favorite to win and his quality should see him get the win and move on to the Round of 16 in Washington.
Predicted Winner: Sebastian Korda