French Open finalist Dominic Thiem is back on clay after his first-round ouster at Wimbledon and Alexander Zverev will attempt to rebound from his early exit at the All-England Club against Nicolas Jarry. Jarry just won the Bastad title.
(1) Dominic Thiem vs Pablo Cuevas
Dominic Thiem did not fare well on grass this year. The Austrian, who has been the second best clay courter in the world after Rafael Nadal, bowed out of Wimbledon in the first round thanks to perennial Wimbledon giant-killer Sam Querrey. The world No. 4 is back on his favorite surface now and poised to take on world No. 47 Pablo Cuevas (who actually managed to win a match in London).
Cuevas is a clay-court veteran and he actually has a couple of wins over Thiem. Under most circumstances, he could prove to be a tricky first round opponent, but Thiem is so good on the dirt right now, it’s hard to imagine Cuevas even making this first rounder competitive. The Uruguayan’s best result this year came in Estoril, where he made the final but lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Thiem should get through this one comfortably.
Cheryl pick: Thiem in 2
Ricky pick: Thiem in 2
[polldaddy poll=10369316]
(2) Alexander Zverev vs. Nicolas Jarry
Like his fellow Hamburg top seed, Alexander Zverev lost in the first round at Wimbledon. But unlike Thiem, Zverev didn’t lose to an accomplished grass-courter. He lost to world No. 124 Jiri Vesely. It was a shock of a loss that will almost certainly have given the world No. 5 pause. He hasn’t played since his surprise exit, and ended up taking a wildcard into Hamburg, presumably to try to put the wheels back on after Wimbledon.
Nicolas Jarry, the world No. 38, is probably not the opponent Zverev was hoping for. First, the Chilean has already beaten Zverev on clay this year in Barcelona. Zverev returned the favor in Geneva, but the win wasn’t easy. The one spot of good news for the German is that Jarry comes into Hamburg off the title in Bastad last week. Fatigue is likely to play some role in Tuesday’s match.
Zverev should come through this one. The No. 2 seed is better rested and Roland Garros wasn’t so long ago that he can be considered rusty on clay.
Cheryl pick: Zverev in 3
Ricky pick: Zverev in 2
[polldaddy poll=10369317]
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Thiem and Zverev in three
Th and Zv in 3.