Quarterfinal spots will be at stake on Wednesday in Auckland, where seeds Cameron Norrie and Jakub Mensik are taking the court. They are facing Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Hamad Medjedovic, respectively.
(5) Cameron Norrie vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Norrie and Mpetshi Perricard will be squaring off for the first time in their careers when they clash in round two of the ASB Classic on Wednesday. As a New Zealand native, this might as well be a home tournament for Norrie — even though he plays under the British flag. The world No. 28 is a two-time runner-up at this tournament and he opened on Monday with a 6-3, 6-4 rout of Hugo Gaston.
Mpetshi Perricard kicked off his week with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in which he got broken for the first time all afternoon while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set but recovered to dominate the ensuing tiebreaker. The 22-year-old Frenchman is off to a 3-1 start this season after making a quarterfinal appearance in Brisbane last week. This should be a good one, but Norrie’s game can work well against big servers — plus he basically has home-court advantage.
Pick: Norrie in 3
(Q) Hamad Medjedovic vs. (3) Jakub Mensik
Mensik’s United Cup appearance this past week produced a mixed bag of results. The 18th-ranked Czech opened with an impressive victory over Casper Ruud but then lost to both Alex de Minaur and Zizou Bergs in straight sets. Wednesday marks Mensik’s first match in Auckland, as he earned an opening bye as the No. 3 seed.
Up first for the 20-year-old is a second meeting with Medjedovic, and their first one certainly did not disappoint. At a 2023 Challenger event on an indoor hard court in Sweden, Mensik prevailed 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(8). Speaking of third-set tiebreakers, Medjedovic outlasted Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Serb qualified for the main draw to begin with, so he has already played seven sets of tennis in Auckland. Mensik has the rest advantage, plus he will be motivated to get at least a couple more matches under his belt in advance of the Australian Open.
Pick: Mensik in 3
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