Top seed Daniil Medvedev will continue his Halle campaign when he goes up against Ilya Ivashka on Thursday. A quarterfinal spot will also be on the line when Nikoloz Basilashvili faces Germany’s own Oscar Otte.
(1) Daniil Medvedev vs. Ilya Ivashka
Medvedev and Ivashka will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers–fourth at the ATP level–and for the second time in as many weeks when they meet again in round two of the Terra Wortmann Open on Thursday. All but one of their previous encounters have gone Medvedev’s way, including 7-6(8), 6-4 in last Friday’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch quarterfinals.
After finishing runner-up to Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven, Medvedev got right back in gear to destroy David Goffin 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday in Halle. Ivashka survived a much tougher opening match, outlasting Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). The 42nd-ranked Belarusian still has a losing record this season (11-12), although he has been in decent form for the past month. Given Medvedev’s week ‘s-Hertogenbosch and his performance against Goffin, nothing suggests that anything will be much different from the recent head-to-head result.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. (SE) Oscar Otte
Otte is playing the best tennis of his career and will break into the top 50 for the first time even if he loses his next match in Halle. It’s a match he probably won’t lose, however. Otte is coming off a semifinal showing in Stuttgart (lost to eventual champion Matteo Berrettini in a pair of tiebreakers) and he defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets on Tuesday. The 51st-ranked German also made noise last summer on grass, reaching the Wimbledon third round as a qualifier before falling to Andy Murray in five sets.
Up next for Otte on Thursday is a first-ever meeting with Basilashvili. The 25th-ranked Georgian did well to upset Andrey Rublev in his Halle opener, but he is still a terrible 10-18 this year. Grass isn’t particularly conducive to Basilashvili’s game, either, so you can’t expect him to string together two impressive performances in a row. Otte is playing in front of the home fans and should treat them to another victory.
Pick: Otte in 2
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