Hangzhou Open 2024 Day 2: Men's singles predictions ft. Zhang Zhizhen vs Denis Yevseyev
The inaugural edition of the Hangzhou Open kicked off on Wednesday, September 18. The tournament replaced the Zhuhai Championships on the ATP calendar. Fifth seed Luciano Darderi has been the tournament's biggest upset so far.
The Italian went down tamely to Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets. Seventh seed Fabian Marozsan started his campaign in style, beating Luca Nardi a 6-0, 6-2 beatdown in his opener.
The first-round matches will continue on Thursday, September 19. On that note, here are the predictions for a few of the matches lined up on Day 2 of the Hangzhou Open:
#1 - Zhang Zhizhen vs Denis Yevseyev
Zhang's record for the season before the Hangzhou Open stands at 21-23. However, he has performed quite poorly on hardcourts throughout the year, going 8-12 on the surface. His best result on hardcourts has been a quarterfinal showing in Marseille, the only time he has won back-to-back matches on the surface.
Yevseyev came through the qualifying rounds of the Hangzhou Open with three-set wins over Reilly Opelka and Dalibor Svrcina. He will now make his second main draw appearance at the ATP level this year, with a second-round finish at the Swedish Open in July being the only other tournament he contested at this level.
While Zhang's performances have been quite streaky this year, he couldn't have asked for an easier start to his run here. Yevseyev mainly plies his trade on the Challenger and ITF circuits and has only one main draw win at the ATP level. It's hard to see the home favorite dropping the ball against his lower-ranked foe.
Predicted winner: Zhang Zhizhen
#2 - Yoshihito Nishioka vs Maximilian Marterer
Nishioka has compiled an 18-14 record for the season and has racked up most of his wins on hardcourts. His best performance this year has been winning the Atlanta Open in July, his third career title. However, he has gone 3-3 since his title-winning run.
Marterer has been in dire form and has notched up a 5-15 record for the year. Only two of those five wins have come on hardcourts, which he secured during last week's Davis Cup ties.
While Nishioka hasn't been at his best this year, Marterer's poor string of results paints a grim picture. The former should be able to beat the latter given their track record this season.
Predicted winner: Yoshihito Nishioka
#3 - Aslan Karatsev vs Mattia Bellucci
Karatsev has only played consistently on the ATP Tour since May. His ranking has fallen off a cliff over the months, and he even dropped out of the top 100 for a while after starting the season ranked 35th. The Russian has a disappointing 2-8 record in main draw matches at the ATP level this year.
Bellucci is another young Italian on the rise. He won his maiden Grand Slam match at the US Open a few weeks ago, where he made the second round. He also reached his first ATP quarterfinal at the Atlanta Open before that.
Karatsev is a former Major semifinalist, though his form these days isn't what it used to be. Both are ranked within a few places of each other at the moment. Belucci lacks the experience of his opponent but given the Russian's struggles, the 23-year-old's chances of outplaying him are quite high.
Predicted winner: Mattia Bellucci
#4 - Sumit Nagal vs Yasutaka Uchiyama
While Nagal did reach a career-high ranking of No. 68 this year, his results have been quite underwhelming. He has registered only five wins in contrast to 13 losses this season and has arrived at the Hangzhou Open on a four-match losing streak.
Additionally, Nagal has won only one match on hardcourts this year, his first-round contest at the Australian Open. He's currently on a five-match losing streak on the surface.
Uchimaya got the better of Maxime Cressy and Mitchell Krueger in straight sets to qualify for the main draw of the Hangzhou Open. This will be his first appearance on the ATP Tour since the Japan Open nearly two years ago.
Uchiyama has only 11 wins at the ATP level in his career, though four of those have come against top 100 players. While he mainly competes on the lower levels of the sport, an upset cannot be ruled out given how Nagal has performed this year. However, if the Indian steps up his game, he will be favored to make a winning start to his Hangzhou Open campaign.
Predicted winner: Sumit Nagal