Estoril R2 previews and predictions: Edmund vs. de Minaur, Muller vs. Tiafoe

Following respective first-round byes, Kyle Edmund and Gilles Muller will kick off their Estoril campaigns on Wednesday. Edmund is facing Alex de Minaur, while Muller could have a similarly tough match on his hands against Frances Tiafoe.

(3) Kyle Edmund vs. (WC) Alex de Minaur

It will be a showdown between two of the stars of the Australian summer when Edmund and de Minaur go head-to-head for the first time in their careers in round two of the Estoril Open on Wednesday afternoon. Edmund earned an opening bye as the No. 3 seed thanks to a 23rd ranking that stems largely from his semifinal run at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old Brit struggled to maintain momentum because of some physical problems, but he managed to finish runner-up on the red clay of Marrakech earlier this spring.

Having previously won just two ATP-level matches prior to this season, de Minaur reached the semifinals in Brisbane and the final in Sydney. It has already been a stellar week in Estoril for the 19-year-old Aussie, with 6-3, 6-1 rout of Gastao Elias and a doubles victory partnering Lleyton Hewitt over No. 2 seeds Michael Venus and Raven Klaasen. But this is a tough clay-court test for de Minaur, who is bouncing back from failed qualification attempts in Marrakech and Monte-Carlo.

Pick: Edmund in 3

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Frances Tiafoe vs. (4) Gilles Muller

Tiafoe’s favorite social media hashtag is #BigFoeOnTheComeUp, and coming up is exactly what he is doing in 2018. The 20-year-old American captured his first career ATP title in Delray Beach and has climbed to No. 64 in the world. Also a fourth-round performer at the Miami Masters, Tiafoe earned his 12th main-tour match win of the season when he outlasted compatriot and Houston runner-up Tennys Sandgren 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) on Monday.

Next up for Tiafoe on Wednesday is a first-ever meeting with Muller, who got a first-round bye as the fourth seed. The 28th-ranked Luxembourgian is just 7-9 for his 2018 campaign and his ranking may soon take a hit with Wimbledon quarterfinal points to defend. Although clay is Muller’s least favorite surface, he at least beat Florian Mayer in Monte-Carlo before extending Alexander Zverev to three sets. On the slow stuff, Tiafoe will have a good chance of handling his opponent’s big serve and pushing him around in baseline rallies.

Pick: Tiafoe in 3

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