Carlos Alcaraz will begin his quest for his third title of 2022 (second on clay) when he goes up against Soonwoo Kwon on Wednesday in Barcelona. Alexander Bublik will also be in second-round action against Emil Ruusuvuori.
(5) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Soonwoo Kwon
Teenager Carlos Alcaraz has had one of the best starts to the year of any player on the ATP (after countryman Rafael Nadal). The world No. 11 is 18-3 on the season with a trio of titles, including his first Masters crown in Miami. The Spaniard had a slight hitch last week in Monte-Carlo with an unexpected loss to Sebastian Korda in the second round.
South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon has endured a slightly disappointing start to the season. He hasn’t managed to win more than a single match at a time. He is a modest 9-9 so far in 2022, including his first-round victory over Benoit Paire on Monday.
This should be a comfortable match for Alcaraz. His loss to Korda last week was a surprise but not exactly shocking because the American is a solid clay-courter. Except the favorite to breeze into the third round.
Cheryl pick: Alcaraz in 2
Ricky pick: Alcaraz in 2
(16) Alexander Bublik vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
Alexander Bublik has had an eventful couple of weeks. The Kazakh won his first match in Monte-Carlo, where he dispatched Stan Wawrinka. In his post-match interview, he said “I hate clay, let’s put it this way. That’s a statement, guys. I hate this surface.” That’s surely not a good sign considering that was after a match win. Sure enough, in his next match against Pablo Carreno Busta he served for the match in the second set but couldn’t convert.
The world No. 33 grew increasingly agitated in the third set. He double-faulted into a break and, disgusted, he retired on the spot despite not being injured. He simply shook hands with Carreno Busta and walked off the court. Since the tour is still on European clay, and given the fact that Ruusuvuori does not hate clay, this is likely to be a short trip to Barcelona for Bublik.
For his part, Ruusuvuori won a couple of qualifying matches in Monte-Carlo and his first-round match over Oscar Otte. The 23 year-old is plenty talented enough on clay to take advantage of Bublik’s disdain for the dirt.
Cheryl pick: Ruusuvuori in 2
Ricky pick: Ruusuvuori in 2
Player: I HATE clay!!!
translation: I SUCK on clay!!!
Sure, that is what he says, but I wouldn’t underestimate him. He’s very capable of pulling off the upset if he plays well. And they are both fair-skinned northeners, so Bublik could be extra motivated.
Ruusuvuori in 3.
and being seeded against a non-seed, Bublik wont think he should lose 2-0.
ouch
WWW?
Alacaraz should perform better here but he is still young and clay is his weakest surface, so he’s more than capable of slipping up again.
I have both Ruusuvuori and Alcaraz being above average risk matches for the day but they can certainly both win 2-0.