Day 2 at the Western & Southern Open will feature No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas against big-serving Kevin Anderson. Belgium’s David Goffin will also be in action against Borna Coric of Croatia.
(4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (PR) Kevin Anderson
The second round kicks off at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday with headliner Stefanos Tsitsipas in action against former Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson. Tsitsipas had a first-round bye, which is usually good news, but might work in Anderson’s favor this time around.
Anderson had a tight three-setter against Kyle Edmunds in the first round on Saturday. The South African, ranked 123rd in the world after a long battle with knee injuries, worked up a decent lather against Edmunds. By contrast, Tsitsipas comes into the match after a five-month layoff from competitive tennis.
Despite the expected rust and Anderson’s form against Edmunds, Tsitispas is the clear favorite in this matchup. Before the hiatus, the Greek fought his way to the finals of Dubai before bowing out to top seed Novak Djokovic. The world No. 6 has a 2-1 record over Anderson, with all three of their encounters coming in 2018–Tsitsipas’s breakthrough year.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 2
[crowdsignal poll=10597514]
Borna Coric vs. (7) David Goffin
Like Anderson, Croatia’s Borna Coric had his first-round match on Saturday, while David Goffin had a bye. Unlike Anderson, Coric’s match wasn’t tight. In fact, it really wasn’t much of a match at all. The Croat rolled to a 6-0, 1-0 lead before opponent Benoit Paire retired with an injury. Coric barely broke a sweat.
Unfortunately for the Coric camp, his match play or lack thereof probably isn’t going to make a difference to the outcome on Sunday. Goffin holds a 4-0 record over the Croat, though it should be noted that the two men haven’t met since 2016 and Coric is likely to give Goffin more of a fight than he did four years ago.
Goffin had a relatively lackluster start to the 2020 season. The Belgian did manage to get to the semis in Montpellier in early February, but that was far and away the highlight of his season so far. Coric should be able to snag a set from the No. 7 seed, but Goffin should walk away with his first win of the tournament.
Cheryl pick: Goffin in 3
Ricky pick: Goffin in 3
[crowdsignal poll=10597515]
WWW?
Tsi in 2; Coric in 2.