Auckland R2 previews and picks: Tsonga vs. Kohlschreiber, Paire vs. Rosol

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will begin his Auckland campaign against Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday. Benoit Paire and Lukas Rosol are also in action.

Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (2) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Tsonga and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they collide in the second round of the ASB Classic on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at a dominant 8-1 in favor of Tsonga, who is 4-0 against Kohlschreiber on hard courts. They faced each other once last season, with the Frenchman getting the job done 6-3, 6-4 indoors in Metz.

But this may be a prime opportunity for Kohlschreiber to begin turning the tide. Tsonga lost three of his last five matches in 2015 and he struggled with yet another knee issue throughout this offseason. Kohlschreiber registers at a decent 34th in the world despite dealing with physical problems of his own last year. The German opened on Tuesday in Auckland by beating countryman Benjamin Becker 7-6(8), 6-3. Kohlschreiber is 24-8 lifetime at this event with a title, a runner-up finish, and an awesome nine trips to at least the quarterfinals in 10 career appearances. Don’t be surprised if the underdog takes advantage of a rusty Tsonga.

Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3

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Lukas Rosol vs. (5) Benoit Paire

Paire and Rosol will be facing each other for the second time already this season when they clash again on Wednesday. They just met last week in Chennai (also in round two), where Paire prevailed 7-5, 7-5. The 18th-ranked Frenchman eventually reached the semifinals (lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka) and finished runner-up in doubles. Paire has looked like a different player, including in the mental department, since the start of last year’s U.S. Open.

Rosol, who trails this overall head-to-head series 2-1, comes in with a mediocre ranking of 54th in the world. The Czech is in solid form to begin this season, boasting wins over Santiago Giraldo in Chennai and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Auckland. Unless Paire checks out mentally in order to arrive earlier in Melbourne for Australian Open preparation, this result should closely resemble that of last week.

Pick: Paire in 2

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