American Steve Johnson will face the 64th-ranked Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in the second round of the Cologne Open on Wednesday, October 21. The match will begin at 2 pm local time (1 pm BST or 8 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Steve Johnson v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Steve Johnson v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Head to Head
This will be the first match between Johnson and Fokina.
Also Read:
Johnson Cruises Past Cilic
Once ranked 21st in the world, Johnson has settled into a less threatening position on the ATP rankings these days, having plumetted outside the top 50. And the manner in which his season has gone so far is an indicator of his form struggles.
Make no mistake, Johnson’s form on the Challenger circuit has been brilliant even in 2020 but when it is the turn to step, it gets difficult for him. Take the example of the Cologne Open last week when he won the first round from being a set down against Filip Krajinovic only to lose in the second round to qualifier Lloyd Harris.
Something like this had happened at the US Open too. Johnson had shocked fellow American John Isner in the first round only to lose to a lesser opponent Ricardas Berankis, having gone into that match as a favourite as well.
This time around Johnson has made it past Marin Cilic in the first round, a former Grand Slam winner and despite having lost the old spark, still a very competitive opponent. So much so, Cilic was 1/3 going into the encounter.
Now comes the real test for Johnson though, playing against someone who is not as pedigreed as his first round opponent. Can he shrug that second round hurdle aside and move into only his second ATP quarterfinal of the season?
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Fokina Dashes Damir Hopes
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is coming off a sterling showing at Cologne last week. As a result of his semifinal appearance in that tournament, he has now moved to 64th in the world, his career-best ranking.
Interestingly, in that tournament, Fokina had defeated Cilic too, much like what Johnson did in the opening round here. Other than that, wins over Emil Ruusuvuori and Dennis Novak meant he reached the last four stage, when he went down fighting to Alexander Zverev.
He has started off on a similar note in the first round here as well. Playing Damir Dzumhur, he lived up to his favourites billing by overcoming his opponent in two easy sets. Fokina broke Dzumhur twice in the first set and while they exchanged breaks in the first seven games of the second set, the Spaniard broke the Bosnian again in the eighth game of the second set and then completed the formalities next game.
Having earlier made it to the fourth round at the US Open as well, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Fokina go deep in this tournament too given his solid form.
Johnson v Davidovich Fokina Prediction and Tip
Fokina is the undoubted favourite with an offer of 1/2 for his win to 6/4 for a Steve Johnson victory. The Spaniard could be given bit of a fight here and we could see a three-setter too.
Tip: Fokina to win: 1/2 (bet365)
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The Cologne Open 2020 will be played from October 19 to 25. You can watch & bet on the Cologne Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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