Sebastian Baez will be right back in action at the Hamburg 500 on Tuesday after finishing runner-up this past weekend in Bastad. Baez is going up against Filip Krajinovic, while Diego Shwartzman faces Emil Ruusuvuori.
Emil Ruusuvuori vs. (3) Diego Schwartzman
Schwartzman and Ruusuvuori will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Hamburg European Open on Tuesday. Their only previous encounter came this spring at the Indian Wells Masters, where Schwartzman prevailed 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Although the Argentine is by no means a clay-court specialist, he would have been expected to fare better than he did on the spring clay-court swing. Schwartzman lost prior to the quarterfinals in Madrid, Rome, and at Roland Garros and now he is coming off a horrendous 6-1, 6-0 loss to Pablo Carreno Busta in the Bastad quarters. Ruusuvuori has exited in the first round in just four of 17 main-tour tournaments in 2022. That includes last week in Bastad, but a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) setback against Dominic Thiem wasn’t a terrible result. The 23-year-old Finn came close to pulling off the upset in Indian Wells and he may be able to do so this time around.
Pick: Ruusuvuori in 3
Sebastian Baez vs. Filip Krajinovic
Baez will hope to go one step farther in Hamburg than he did in Bastad, where he reached the final before falling to fellow Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(4), 6-2 on Sunday. It was still a stellar week for the 21-year-old, who has soared to 32nd in the rankings thanks to earning 25 of his 28 career ATP-level match wins this season.
Up first for Baez in Hamburg is Krajinovic, whom the Argentine has never faced. Krajinovic is a decent 17-13 this year and he advanced to the third around at both the Rome Masters and French Open. The 43rd-ranked Serb can’t be completely discounted, but current form favors his opponent and Baez has a considerable advantage on clay.
Pick: Baez in 2
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Russo in 3; Baez in straight.
hey u lib fuck. No sick days. Get back to making crappy picks.