Fellow Americans Steve Johnson and Frances Tiafoe will continue their Geneva campaigns during second-round action on Wednesday. Johnson is going up against Lukas Rosol, while Tiafoe is facing Marton Fucsovics.
(Q) Lukas Rosol vs. (6) Steve Johnson
Rosol is finally resurfacing on the main tour as he heads into his second-round match at the Geneva Open on Wednesday. After squandering multiple match points against Gilles Muller and losing 9-7 in the fifth set in round two of Wimbledon last summer, he has won only two ATP-level matches–last fall in Moscow and 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) over fellow Czech Jiri Vesely in the Geneva first round on Monday. Due to both injury and poor play, the 32-year-old registers at No. 286 in the world.
Up next for Rosol is a third career contest against Johnson, with the head-to-head series tied up at one victory apiece. After Rosol dominated 6-0, 6-3 in the 2014 Irving Challenger final, Johnson cruised 6-3, 6-2 at the 2016 Winston-Salem event. The 47th-ranked American has struggled over the past year, but he picked up momentum with a third-round performance in Miami and a title on the red clay of Houston. Johnson, who took care of Marius Copil 7-6(4), 6-3 in his Geneva openers, owns a massive edge in current form and should have little trouble breaking down Rosol on this surface.
Pick: Johnson in 2
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Frances Tiafoe vs. Marton Fucsovics
Fucsovics and Tiafoe will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Wednesday. Tiafoe is lucky to still be alive in this tournament, as he trailed fellow American Ryan Harrison by a set and 5-2 in the second-set tiebreaker before storming back for a 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 first-round victory. Thus continued a breakout season on tour for the 20-year-old, who has climbed to 61st in the world thanks in part to 16 ATP-level match wins and his first career ATP title in Delray Beach.
Although Fucsovics has not been as consistent in 2018 (his record is 8-10 compared to Tiafoe’s 16-8 mark), he has excelled on the biggest stage–reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open before succumbing to eventual champion Roger Federer. The 60th-ranked Hungarian is displaying decent form on clay, with a quarterfinal performance in Munich that ended a five-match losing streak and a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Tuesday. A more motivated and confident opponent in Tiafoe should be able to put Fucsovics back in the loss column.
Pick: Tiafoe in 2
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WYG?
The Americans in three
Meant Johnson in two
Put paycheck on taifoe and maybe safarova parlay.
Johnson in two Fucsovics in three
Rosol doesnt look like any real threat in current form at challenger grade and Johnson has been in arguably career best form this year.
Johnson in 2
Tiafoe is one of the brightest stars and should be too strong here especially after a tight match against Harrison.
Tiafoe in 2.
Stevie in 2; Fvics in 3.