Sofia previews and predictions: Sinner vs. Fucsovics, Struff vs. Pospisil

First-round action in Sofia will wrap up on Tuesday, when Jannik Sinner faces Marton Fucsovics. The second round is also getting underway with a showdown between Jan-Lennard Struff and Vasek Pospisil.

Marton Fucsovics vs. Jannik Sinner

Sinner and Fucsovics will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Sofia Open on Tuesday afternoon. Their only previous meeting came earlier this season at the Australian Open, where Fucsovics cruised 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Sinner has already made big strides since then, highlighted by a quarter-final run at the French Open followed by a semi-final showing in Cologne. The 19-year-old Italian, who won the NextGen ATP Finals last fall, is up to No. 44 in the world.

Fucsovics also returned from the coronavirus hiatus on fire, reaching the third round at the Cincinnati Masters, the third round of the U.S. Open, and the fourth round of the French Open. However, the 55th-ranked Hungarian is coming off consecutive first-round losses during the indoor swing. A 6-0, 6-3 setback against Gilles Simon in Cologne was especially alarming. On this surface, a confident Sinner will likely have too much firepower for Fucsovics.

Pick: Sinner in 2

Vasek Pospisil vs. (4) Jan-Lennard Struff

Pospisil has already played a match this week and it has to be said that he is incredibly lucky to still be in the tournament and have his 2020 season prolonged. While going up against Illya Marchenko on Monday, the 74th-ranked Canadian took a medical timeout for a neck injury early in the third set, broke back with Marchenko serving for the match at 5-4, and recovered from 4-0 down in the third-set tiebreaker to prevail 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(5) in two hours and 43 minutes. Pospisil is now a solid 13-9 at the ATP level this season, but it won’t be easy for him to get right back in gear on Tuesday.

Up next for the 30-year-old in a third career contest against Struff, with the head-to-head series tied 1-1. They have not faced each other since 2016 and have never squared off on hard courts. Struff, who earned a first-round bye as Sofia’s No. 4 seed, has been up and down since the ATP Tour resumed in August. His chances in this one have more to do with Pospisil than they do with his own current level of play, but a well-rested Struff will likely get the job done.

Pick: Struff in 2