Stefanos Tsitsipas kicks off his 2022 clay-court season in Monte-Carlo against Fabio Fognini as the second round gets underway on Tuesday. Holger Rune, who qualified for the main draw, will also be in action against Aslan Karatsev.
(3) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Fabio Fognini
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas carved out a spot for himself as one of the top clay-courters of 2021. He is the reigning Monte-Carlo champion, he won a second clay title in Lyon, and he made his way to the final of the French Open last year. He limped through the Indian Wells-Miami sunshine double, but he is right at home on the terre battue.
Notably, Tsitsipas’s second-round opponent Fabio Fognini won the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2019–which made him the defending champion last spring (the event was not held in 2020 due to Covid-19). Fognini is an accomplished clay-courter in his own right, but the Italian hasn’t had the best start to the season. That he runs into Tsitsipas so quickly is likely bad news for the world No. 32.
Tsitsipas holds a 3-0 record over Fognini and the Greek comes into the event plenty rested, as he was knocked out of the Miami Masters in the round of 16 by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Aslan Karatsev vs. (Q) Holger Rune
Aslan Karatsev started off the year with a title in Sydney, but since then it has been a flood of early-round losses. He won a single match combined in Indian Wells and Miami. Karatsev posted a win over upcoming first-round opponent Holger Rune back in Marseille earlier this season.
Rune is ranked a career high 79th in the world. The 18-year-old is ranked low enough that he is still forced to qualify for many-tour events. He has generally been successful so far in 2022, but once he gets into the draw he struggles a bit. Rune is 2-7 on the year in main-draw matches.
That the Dane runs into Karatsev in the first round is mostly good news. The Russian is off form enough that Rune has a decent chance of the “upset.” Karatsev has only won two of his last eight matches, so don’t be surprised if this one goes the teen’s way.
Cheryl pick: Rune in 3
Ricky pick: Rune in 3
WWW?
No argument there. I still expect those players to outperform over the coming season.
If you get this lot of predictions correct you’ll be back to 50% and can rebuild your from there. It’s all about redemption.
Tpas in 2; and Rune wins in 2 or 3….this Rune kid is going to be really good!!!!