Former top 14 players in the world Alexandr Dolgopolov and Jerzy Janowicz will contest a marquee second-round matchup on Wednesday in Hamburg. Veteran Mikhail Youzhny and former junior world No. 1 Alexander Zverev are also in action.
(4) Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. Jerzy Janowicz
Dolgopolov and Janowicz will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they clash in round two of the bet-at-home Open on Wednesday afternoon. Their only previous meeting came in January on the hard courts of Brisbane, where Dolgopolov cruised 6-2, 6-2. An injury-plagued Janowicz is still slumping down at No. 48 in the world, but he is at least showing some signs of life. The 6’8” Pole advanced two rounds at both the French Open and Wimbledon and he kicked off his Hamburg campaign on Tuesday with a 6-0, 7-5 rout of Albert Ramos.
Like Janowicz, Dolgopolov blows hot and cold to the extreme. He caught fire earlier this year with a runner-up in Rio de Janeiro, a semifinal in Acapulco, a semifinal in Indian Wells, and a quarterfinal in Miami. That gave way to a relatively lackluster clay-court swing, but Dolgopolov rebounded with a quarterfinal at Queen’s Club and a third-round performance at the All-England Club, where he succumbed to Grigor Dimitrov in five sets. The 21st-raked Ukrainian will be in danger if his opponent serves extremely well, but otherwise Janowicz is simply not playing consistent enough tennis right now.
Pick: Dolgopolov in 3
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(WC) Alexander Zverev vs. (5) Mikhail Youzhny
Two players at opposite ends of the career spectrum will be squaring off when Zverev and Youzhny meet during second-round action on Wednesday in Hamburg. Zverev is a 17-year-old German and brother of tour pro Mischa Zverev, who peaked at No. 45 in the world in 2009. The younger Zverev is a former junior world No. 1 and he currently registers at seventh in the ITF junior rankings. After getting a wild card into the main draw this week, he earned his first ATP-level match victory by destroying Robin Haase 6-0, 6-2.
At 32 years old, Youzhny is a mere 10-13 on the season but he is still ranked 19th in the world thanks to a stellar post-Wimbledon stretch last year in which he won titles in Gstaad and Valencia in addition to a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open. The Russian lost in the second round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, but he at least managed to reach the Stuttgart quarterfinals last week. Zverev will be confident and playing with nothing to lose, but Youzhny’s rock-solid ball-striking from the back of the court should be too much for the youngster in the end.
Pick: Youzhny in 3
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