Montpellier 2023 Day 4: Men's singles predictions ft. Holger Rune vs Marc-Andrea Huesler, Lorenzo Sonego vs Filip Krajinovic | Open Sud de France
The fourth day of main draw action at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Thursday (February 9) will see the conclusion of the Round of 16.
On the third day, defending champion Alexander Bublik crashed out in the opening round, losing in a third set tiebreak to Frenchman Gregoire Barrere. That extended the Kazakh's losing start to the season to 0-7.
Through to R2!
@GregBarrere battles past Bublik 6-4 6-7(12) 7-6(3).
@OpenSuddeFrance | #OSDF23 https://t.co/Ly2KpAsXHJ
In other results, second seed Jannik Sinner qualified for the quarterfinals without taking the court after his second-round opponent Marton Fucsovics withdrew because of injury. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Emil Ruusuvuori were some of the other winners on the day.
On Thursday, six second-round matches will complete the quarterfinal lineup in Montpellier. Here's a look at the predictions for each match:
#1 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Quentin Halys
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina opened his Montpellier campaign with a victory over home favorite Ugo Humbert, who retired after Davidovich Fokina had restored parity by taking the second set. The Spaniard will now take on another Frenchman, Quentin Halys.
With the win, the World No. 32 has crossed the opening hurdle at all three tournaments he has played this year, having made the second round at the Australian Open last month. Meanwhile, the 70th-ranked Halys has improved to 4-3 on the season after seeing off compatriot Clement Chidekh in three sets.
Davidovich Fokina will meet Halys for the first time, but expect the Spaniard to prevail, albeit in three sets.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in three sets
#2 Borna Coric vs Arthur Rindeknech
Third seed Borna Coric will open his campaign at the Open Sud de France against World No. 68 Arthur Rindeknech.
The 23rd-ranked Coric is coming off two wins in the Davis Cup against Croatia to improve to 4-2 on the season, having exited the Australian Open in the first round. The 26-year-old is looking to secure his first victory in Montpellier in three attempts. Meanwhile, Rinderknech snapped a three-match losing run by beating Italian qualifier Luca Nardi in the opening round on Wednesday.
Coric won the pair's lone meeting at the inaugural United Cup last month and should repeat the trick again.
Prediction: Coric in straight sets
#3 Holger Rune (making Montpellier debut) vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Top seed Holger Rune will kickstart his campaign at the Open Sud de France against in-form Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler.
Rune himself is in form, squandering match points before going down to Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open fourth round last month. The World No. 9, though, returned to winning ways with a couple of straight-set wins in the Davis Cup against India.
Meanwhile, the 49th-ranked Huesler improved to 6-2 on the year after seeing off Luca van Assche in three sets to set up a showdown with the top-seeded Rune. The Swiss left-hander has beaten Rune in his two previous meetings, but expect the Dane to pull one back on Thursday.
Prediction: Rune in three sets
#4 Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Gregoire Barrere
Nikoloz Basilashvili will look to register consecutive wins for the first time this year when he takes on Frenchman Gregoire Barrere for a place in the Montpellier quarterfinals.
The 87th-ranked Georgian got off the mark for the season by seeing off another Frenchman - Constant Lestienne - in the opening round. Meanwhile, Barrere, ranked 75th in the world, is coming off a thrilling three-set win over defending champion Bublik on Wednesday.
The two players have split their two previous meetings, but Barrere won their last meeting - in Montpellier - two years ago and should do so again.
Prediction: Barrere in three sets
#5 Maxime Cressy vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Maxime Cressy will look to make it two wins out of two in Montpellier when he takes on seventh seed Emil Ruusuvuori for a place in the last eight.
The World No. 51 improved to 2-2 on the season after seeing off qualifier Antoine Bellier in the opening round. Meanwhile, the 53rd-ranked Ruusuvuori opened his campaign at the Open Sud de France with a straight-sets win over Mikael Ymer on Wednesday.
Ruusuvuori has won both his previous meetings with Cressy - both in 2022 - and the trend should continue.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in three sets
#6 Lorenzo Sonego vs Filip Krajinovic
In an all-unseeded clash, Filip Krajinovic will take on Lorenzo Sonego to complete the quarterfinal lineup at Montpellier.
The 71st-ranked Krajinovic improved to 3-2 on the season by seeing off Aslan Karatsev in three sets in the opening round. Meanwhile, Sonego, ranked 56th in the world, got his Montpellier campaign up and running with a straight-sets win over eighth-seeded Frenchman Benzamin Bonzi.
Le programme de ce mercredi… qui sera disputé dans une salle pleine ! @montpellier_ @Occitanie @SDFArena_Mtp https://t.co/odSF2Ve5IU
Krajinovic and Sonego will meet for the first time, but expect the Serb to emerge victorious and make the last eight.
Prediction: Krajinovic in straight sets