One more first-round affair in Halle is arguably the cream of the entire crop, as top seed Daniil Medvedev is going up against David Goffin on Wednesday. A second-round blockbuster features Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios.
(1) Daniil Medvedev vs. David Goffin
Medvedev and Goffin will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time on grass when they wrap up first-round action at the Terra Wortmann Open on Wednesday. Their 2019 Wimbledon third-round showdown did not disappoint, as Goffin survived a 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 thriller. However, Medvedev leads the head-to-head series 2-1 after taking their two other 2019 encounters–in straight sets at the Australian Open and in the Cincinnati final.
Although Medvedev’s grass-court swing won’t include Wimbledon, it is off to a decent start in the form of a runner-up finish in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The world No. 1 was a heavy favorite in last Sunday’s title match but lost to Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven. Goffin has not played since Roland Garros, where he reached the third round before getting blown out by Hubert Hurkacz. With four grass-court matches already under his belt, Medvedev should have slight edge–but an upset would not be at all surprising.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
(WC) Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios will also be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Wednesday. Kyrgios leads the head-to-head series 2-0, although it’s really 2-0 if you count the Laver Cup as an exhibition (Tsitsipas prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in last year’s team event). The 27-year-old Aussie got the job done twice in third-set tiebreakers; 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) at the 2019 Citi Open in Washington, D.C. and 7-6(7), 6-7(3), 7-6(5) at the 2020 ATP Cup.
The grass-court summer is one of Kyrgios’ favorite times of year, whereas Tsitsipas loves clay and would rather the hard-court swing begin immediately thereafter. The Greek may not be entirely hopeless on the green stuff, but it is by far his worst surface. Tsitsipas needed three sets to get past Benjamin Bonzi on Tuesday in Halle, whereas Kyrgios erased Daniel Altmaier without any trouble. The world No. 65 is coming off a semifinal showing in Stuttgart (lost to Andy Murray) and he is looking motivated on the grass. There is no reason to think that motivation level will change with Tsitsipas on the other side of the net.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
WWW?
Med in 2; Tsi in 3.