The first and second round matches of the 2019 European Open continue on Wednesday, October 16th. Get the Stanislas Wawrinka v Feliciano Lopez and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Giles Simon tips, previews and predictions below.
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Stanislas Wawrinka v Feliciano Lopez Predictions & Preview
Former world number three Stanislas Wawrinka meets the evergreen Feliciano Lopez for the eighth time in his career, in the second round at Antwerp. Wawrinka leads the head-to-head 4-3, but in the last six years, they have met twice, both times on grass, and split the matches.
Wawrinka spent most of 2018, recovering from a knee injury and missed large portions of the tennis calendar dropping him out of the top 300 in the world rankings. 2019 has been a better year for the Swiss, who has made the quarter-finals at both the French and US Open and was a finalist at the Rotterdam ATP 500, and in turn is back in the top 20 in the world rankings. Wawrinka missed the Asian swing due to niggles again with the knee, but is believed to be back to close to full fitness.
At age 38, Feliciano Lopez seems to continue strongly on the tour and won both the singles and doubles at the Queens Club ATP 500 this year, on his preferred surface, i.e. grass. Although the recent weeks were not the best for the Spaniard, he looked in good touch against young Briton Cameron Norrie in the first round here.
An exciting battle awaits, and although the Wawrinka game is more suited to the surface, it remains to be seen how well he has recovered and if he can get the thundering groundstrokes going. It will be down to a few points, but expect the Swiss to win in a decider.
Tip: Wawrinka to win in three sets:
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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Giles Simon Predictions & Preview
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Giles Simon have met 12 times with Tsonga leading the head-to-head 9-3. Tsonga has won their last four meetings, dating back to 2014, all on hard courts.
Both Tsonga and Simon have been ranked as high as number five and six in the world respectively, in the past. In their mid-thirties, as their careers draw to a close, they have done well to make comebacks every time they have dipped in the rankings due to injuries or poor form.
2018 saw Tsonga pull out for large portions of the year with knee issues and dropping out of the top 200 in the world. He has attempted to make a comeback this year and while it has been a start-stop year for him, he has done well to win two ATP titles, in Montpellier and Moselle, and return to the top 35 in the rankings.
Simon dropped out of the top 50 in the world for the first time in 2017, after 12 years. The Frenchman did well to win two tiles in 2018 and was a finalist this summer at the Queens Club ATP 500.
Both players looked in good form in their openers and we could be in for a good match. Expect Tsonga to continue his dominance in this match-up with a three-set win.
Tip: Tsonga to win in three sets:
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Francis Tiafoe v Yannick Madden Predictions & Preview
‘Next Gen’ American star Frances Tiafoe meets German Yannick Maden for the first time in the opening round at Antwerp.
Frances Tiafoe at age 21, has been earmarked for great things down the road. He had a strong 2018, winning the title at Delray Beach, being a runner-up at Estoril and carrying his form into 2019 where he was an Australian Open quarter-finalist. However, the rest of the year has not gone particularly well for him, and he has dropped from number 29 to outside the top 50 in the rankings. The Asian swing saw him lose early to Alexander Zverev in Beijing and Denis Shapovalov in Shanghai.
Tiafoe will be looking for a strong run here to bring back some confidence and solidify his spot at the ATP Next Gen Tour Finals in Milan, early next month.
German Yannick Maden has been on the tour for three years, but played sparingly in the main draw, having spent more time on the Challengers. Incidentally, his debut three years ago was also here in Antwerp.
Expect Tiafoe to get off to a good start at the European Open with a straight sets win
Tip: Tiafoe to win in straight sets:
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Guido Pella v Soonwoo Kwon Predictions & Preview
Argentine Guido Pella meets young Korean Koonwoo Swon in the second round of the ATP 250 in Antwerp. The players met earlier this year on the hard courts at Los Cabos, where Pella prevailed.
Pella has had among the best seasons of his career and is ranked number 20th in the world now. After losing the Cordoba Open final to Juan Ignacio Londero, he came back to win the Brasil Open, defeating Chilean Cristain Garin and claiming his first ATP title. A clay courter, Pella did well to make his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinals at Wimbledon, defeating 2018 runner-up Kevin Anderson, and 2016 runner-up Milos Raonic en route. In the first round, he was stretched by German Peter Gojowczyk, but came through in three sets.
21-year-old Korean Koonwoo Swon is a new name on the tour and while he is still getting acclimatized to the professional draws, he has done well to already break into the top 100 of the world. He has shown his liking for the hard courts, defeating Lucas Pouille during the Asian swing and French veteran Richard Gasquet in the first round here.
A good match ahead of us; expect the Korean to continue to play with confidence, but the in-form Pella should see this through in three sets.
Tip: Pella to win in three sets:
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