Hamburg R2 previews and predictions: Tsitsipas vs. Cuevas, Ruud vs. Fognini

Stefanos Tsitsipas has another major on his mind, but for now he has to focus on Hamburg–specifically a second-round date with Pablo Cuevas on Thursday. Fabio Fognini and Casper Ruud are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.

(Q) Pablo Cuevas vs. (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas and Cuevas will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Hamburg European Open on Thursday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 2-0 in favor of Tsitsipas, who leads 4-0 in total sets. He prevailed 6-1, 6-4 at the 2017 Antwerp event and 6-3, 7-6(4) on the red clay of Estoril in 2019.

Since the Estoril final they have gone in different directions. Tsitsipas is up to No. 6 in the world, while Cuevas is struggling down at 63rd in the rankings. The 34-year-old Uruguayan was terrible at the Cincinnati Masters and U.S. Open before losing in the quarterfinals of a clay-court Challenger event in Aix en Provence to Daniel Altmaier. Nothing suggests Cuevas can compete with Tsitsipas, especially given that the Greek pummeled a much more in-form Dan Evans 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday.

Pick: Tsitsipas in 2

Casper Ruud vs. (6) Fabio Fognini

Ruud is on a roll, to the extent that he could be one of the most dangerous players at the French Open outside of the top 10. The 21-year-old is coming off a semifinal run at the Rome Masters that has him up to 30th in the world and seeded at Roland Garros. Ruud, whose three ATP finals (one title) have all come on clay, was easing past Benoit Paire 6-4, 2-0 on Wednesday when the Frenchman retired.

Up next for the Norwegian during second-round action on Thursday is Fognini, who lost their only previous meeting 6-2, 6-2 earlier this season at the ATP Cup. Although Fognini is also strong on clay, he is much more of an all-court player than Ruud and right now it probably doesn’t matter what surface he is on–the result won’t be good. The 33-year-old Italian returned from an ankle injury with immediate losses in Kitzbuhel and Rome, and he needed three tough sets to outlast a slumping Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday in Hamburg. All signs point to additional Ruud dominance.

Pick: Ruud in 2