Damir Dzumhur’s incredible hot streak will be put to the test in the form of a first-round Beijing showdown against Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday. Tomas Berdych and Jared Donaldson are also part of a loaded schedule.
(3) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (SE) Damir Dzumhur
Dzumhur is an incredible 18-4 in his last 22 ATP-level matches and 22-5 in his last 27 overall as he heads into first-round action at the China Open on Tuesday. The world No. 36 from Bosnia and Herzegovina has reached the first two ATP finals of his career during this stretch, finishing runner-up to Roberto Bautista Agut in Winston-Salem and capturing the title earlier this fall in St. Petersburg. Dzumhur is coming off a semifinal performance in Shenzhen, where he upset Alexander Zverev before falling to Alexandr Dolgopolov.
This will mark the second career meeting between Dzumhur and Dimitrov, with Dimitrov having won their only previous encounter 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 last year on the hard courts of Delray Beach. Also in fine form, the eighth-ranked Bulgarian is in World Tour Finals contention with a stellar 35-15 record for his 2017 campaign. Dimitrov lifted the most important trophy of his career this summer in Cincinnati, but he fell in the U.S. Open second round to Andrey Rublev. Although this will be a tough one for the No. 2 seed, he is far more rested than Dzumhur and therefore should be able to survive a competitive contest.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
[polldaddy poll=9842913]
(7) Tomas Berdych vs. Jared Donaldson
Berdych and Donaldson will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Tuesday. Although he capitalized on a favorable draw and an injured Novak Djokovic to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, Berdych has mostly underwhelmed in 2017. The 32-year-old Czech has slipped to 20th in the rankings and he has suffered recent defeats at the hands of Thanasi Kokkinakis (Los Cabos semis), Juan Martin Del Potro (Cincinnati first round), and Alexandr Dolgopolov (U.S. Open second round).
Donaldson, on the other hand, is firmly on the rise. The 20-year-old American has earned 20 of his 31 career ATP-level match victories this season and he is up to No. 56 in the world thanks to those efforts. Donaldson has not lost in the first round of a main draw since the French Open, a stretch of eight tournaments during which he has compiled a 14-8 record. He advanced to the Chengdu quarterfinals last week before succumbing to eventual champion Denis Istomin in three sets. This is a big opportunity for Donaldson against an opponent who is favored on paper but surely lacking confidence right now.
Pick: Donaldson in 3
[polldaddy poll=9842914]
Leave a Reply