Round two in Gstaad pairs Swiss wild card Jerome Kym against former Roland Garros and Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. Valentin Vacherot makes his comeback from an injury against Yannick Hanfmann on Wednesday.
(WC) Jerome Kym vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Jerome Kym gave the home fans something to cheer for in round one, grinding past Dylan Dietrich 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-6(5). The Swiss native made the Gstaad quarterfinals as a wild card last summer, his first real signature run on tour. The fact that he needed another WC this year isn’t good news for him. Kym sits at 186th in the world these days, a good way off the No. 123 he touched last May, with more losses than wins in his last stretch of results.
Stefanos Tsitsipas presents a totally different problem than Dietrich did. The three-time Monte Carlo champion is a good clay-courter despite what his No. 85 ranking would suggest. The problem for the Greek is that he can’t string two wins together right now. He hasn’t won two matches in a row since a fourth-round run in Madrid. Kym has the height and the serve to make Tsitsipas work for entry into rallies, and the home crowd at Roy Emerson Arena won’t hurt. I like the home-court advantage just enough to give this to the Swiss.
Cheryl pick: Kym in 3
Ricky pick: Kym in 3
(3) Valentin Vacherot vs. Yannick Hanfmann
Valentin Vacherot’s story this week is a lot less about Yannick Hanfmann and a lot more about whether his foot holds up. The Monegasque hasn’t played a match since the first round at Roland Garros in late May, when a stress fracture and bone edema in his left foot forced him out before his very next match. He had already skipped Rome and Hamburg trying to protect it, then ruled himself out of the entire grass season — so this is his first competitive tennis in close to seven weeks and his tournament debut in Gstaad. The last 12 months have otherwise been the best stretch of his career by a mile — a Shanghai Masters title, a Monte-Carlo semifinal, a climb to a career-high No. 16, and he arrives seeded third even after all the missed time.
Hanfmann is a sneaky tough opener for a comeback match. The 34-year-old German served his way past Pedro Martinez in straight sets in round one, winning 94 percent of his first-serve points with 13 aces along the way, and he is a battle-tested clay veteran who made his first ATP final right here in Gstaad back in 2017 as a qualifier. Vacherot has the bigger upside, but his fitness is still a giant question mark. I’ll give the No. 3 seed the nod, but a Hanfmann win wouldn’t be a surprise.
Cheryl pick: Vacherot in 3
Ricky pick: Hanfmann in 3
WWW?
Stefanos at 85. Gosh. Wonder if he has a shot at climbing back to top 10 … even top 20?
The pieces of the puzzle are still in the box, but he has completely lost the plot. Almost like his concentration is gone.
how did he beat Buse
He was actually good yesterday, which is how I know the pieces are still in the box.
Hanfmann in three likes the altitude .
Aside note: The clay at Gstaad looks a different colour, more pink, Bastaad is more of an brown -orange.
I noticed the same thing about Madrid clay ..also altitude