Reigning Estoril champion Joao Sousa will continue his title defense when he takes the court against fourth-seeded David Goffin on Thursday. Frances Tiafoe and Yoshihito Nishioka are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(4) David Goffin vs. Joao Sousa
Goffin and Sousa will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Estoril Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Goffin, who won their only previous clay-court encounter 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(1) at the 2015 Gstaad event. Sousa, however, completely dominated their most recent meeting 6-0, 6-1 at the 2018 Miami Masters.
It must be noted that Goffin has an excuse for the aforementioned result, as he was just returning from injury. Although the Belgian is healthy this time around, Sousa once again has a clearly advantage on paper. The world No. 51 from Portugal is the defending champion of his home tournament and his opponent is slumping down at 25th in the rankings–much lower than his normal standard. Goffin has lost three matches already this season to opponents outside the top 100. Count on Sousa treating the home crowd to a relatively routine victory.
Pick: Sousa in 2
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(8) Frances Tiafoe vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Tiafoe and Nishioka will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the first time on the main tour when they battle for a spot in the Estoril quarterfinals on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came in the final of the 2016 Winnetka Challenger, where Nishioka triumphed 6-3, 6-2.
Nishikori has torn an ACL and returned with a vengeance since then, while Tiafoe has been on a steady rise. The 21-year-old American, who up to 31st in the rankings, had reached two ATP finals–including a runner-up showing in Estoril last season to go along with a title in Delray Beach. Tiafoe took care of Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 7-5 in round one on Tuesday, while Nishioka downed Makenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-4 on Monday. The eighth seed clearly feels comfortable at this event and will likely have too much firepower for the Japanese underdog.
Pick: Tiafoe in 3
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