Halle R2 previews and predictions: Baghdatis vs. Brown, Nishikori vs. Mayer

An all-unseeded contest on Wednesday in Halle will pit Marcos Baghdatis against fellow entertaining shot-maker Dustin Brown. A quarterfinal spot will also be at stake when No. 2 seed Kei Nishikori faces Germany’s own Florian Mayer.

Marcos Baghdatis vs. (WC) Dustin Brown

Baghdatis and Brown will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in the round of 16 at the Gerry Weber Open on Wednesday. All three of their previous meetings have gone Baghdatis’ way; 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 on the clay courts of Munich in 2012, 6-4, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(4) at Wimbledon two years later, and 7-6(6), 7-6(0) at the Irving Challenger last spring.

Now, however, Brown is back on his favorite grass-court surface and has a Wimbledon upset of Rafael Nadal under his belt (in four sets during second-round action in 2015). The 87th-ranked German recently advanced to the French Open second round as a qualifier and he captured a Challenger title in Manchester before taking care of Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday. Baghdatis booked his place in the last 16 by upsetting fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6(3), 7-6(4). The 42nd-ranked Cypriot is a mediocre 12-10 for his 2016 campaign and coming off a first-round exit at the hands of Jan-Lennard Struff in Stuttgart. This is a prime opportunity for a confident Brown to get on the scoreboard against Baghdatis in what should be a wildly entertaining affair.

Pick: Brown in 3

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(PR) Florian Mayer vs. (2) Kei Nishikori

On paper, nothing suggests Nishikori vs. Mayer will be a competitive contest. Nishikori registers at No. 6 in the world and he is 32-10 this season with one title, a runner-up performance in Miami, and two other Masters 1000 semifinal showings. The injury-plagued Mayer, on the other hand, is just 3-4 in 2016 and he is struggling down at 192nd in the rankings.

Despite those numbers, this one could be more interesting than it may appear at first glance. Grass has always been Nishikori’s worst surface (he is a mere 8-6 lifetime at Wimbledon, for example) and he needed three sets to outlast Lucas Pouille on Monday in Halle. Mayer, meanwhile, is a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist (2004 and 2012). The German qualified last week in Stuttgart and made a run to the quarterfinals before falling to Roger Federer in a pair of tiebreakers. Mayer may drop to 0-3 lifetime against Nishikori, but it will not be easy for the second seed.

Pick: Nishikori in 3

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