Brisbane R2 previews and predictions: Cilic vs. Chung, Tomic vs. Stepanek

An intriguing second-round contest in Brisbane will pit Marin Cilic against Hyeon Chung on Wednesday. Bernard Tomic and Radek Stepanek are also aiming for a spot in the quarterfinals.

(3) Marin Cilic vs. Hyeon Chung

Chung is only 19 years old, but he is already quite familiar with Cilic as they head into second-round action at the Brisbane International on Wednesday. They went head-to-head twice last season, with Cilic getting the job done on both occasions. In a late-night (early-morning) showdown on the hard courts of Washington, D.C., the 2014 U.S. Open champion prevailed 7-6(2), 6-3 at 2:27 AM. Cilic also advanced to the Shenzen semifinals a few months ago by beating Chung 7-6(6), 6-4.

It has already been a relatively productive week for the fast-rising Korean. He kicked off his Brisbane campaign on Monday with a 7-6(8), 6-4 defeat of big-serving Australian Sam Groth. Chung is up to No. 51 in the world and already owns 15 career ATP-level match wins. Cilic, who earned a first-round bye as the third seed, finished last year at No. 13 in the world despite missing basically the first three months. His opponent is only improving and may benefit from having a Brisbane match under his belt, so this is going to be tough for Cilic. In the end, though, the favorite is likely to showcase too much experience in pressure moments.

Pick: Cilic in 3

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(7) Bernard Tomic vs. (PR) Radek Stepanek

Stepanek, the ageless wonder, missed much of 2015 due to injury problems. But the 37-year-old Czech returned in late spring and played sparingly on both the ATP and Challenger circuits. He won six ATP tournament matches to boost his ranking enough to get back inside the top 200 (currently No. 197). And Stepanek apparently means business in 2016. He opened on Tuesday in Brisbane by destroying Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 6-3.

This is the fourth career meeting between Stepanek and Tomic, with all three previous encounters having gone the way of the veteran. He is also a perfect 6-0 lifetime in total sets against Tomic following decisions of 6-2, 7-5 (Madrid, 2012), 6-3, 6-2 (Madrid, 2013), and 7-6(4), 7-6(5) (Queen’s Club, 2014). The 23-year-old Aussie, though, is more consistent and seems to be more focused than he was in prior seasons. Tomic has climbed to 18th in the rankings after compiling a 40-27 record in 2015 that featured a title in Bogota and a quarterfinal in Indian Wells. The seventh seed had no trouble on Tuesday, easing past Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-3. That should be ideal preparation to face a similar playing style in Stepanek.

Pick: Tomic in 3

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