The Mutua Madrid Open gets underway on Wednesday with Thanasi Kokkinakis battling Jaume Munar and Alexei Popyrin taking on Quentin Halys. Popyrin vs. Halys will be a big-hitting affair in fast conditions.
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Jaume Munar
Ordinarily it would be a fairly straightforward pick to pick a Spaniard (any one will do) over Thanasi Kokkinakis on a clay court. The world No. 111 has barely bothered to play on the dirt since his first match on the surface in 2015. A long battle with chronic injury combined with general lack of success resulted in a 4-8 lifetime record on the terre battue. But he has a chance to make a match of it against Jaume Munar on Wednesday.
Munar is a traditional clay-courter. He elects to spend the majority of his time on the dirt, although he’s had a rough time of it at recent events. The Spaniard is 88th in the rankings and he is an anemic 6-11 on the season. Most of his wins came at the Santiago 250 event, where he reached the semifinals. Otherwise it has been bad news for the 25 year-old. Still, under normal circumstances he would be a prohibitive favorite over Kokkinakis.
However, Madrid doesn’t play like most other clay events. The altitude makes it much faster and more favorable to big hitters like Kokkinakis. Munar should still snag the win, but it will probably be close.
Cheryl pick: Munar in 3
Ricky pick: Munar in 3
Alexei Popyrin vs. Quentin Halys
Alexei Popyrin is ranked 75th in the world. For most of the season, the Aussie’s ranking has hovered at the point that makes qualifying necessary. He has enjoyed moderate success doing so, but he hasn’t advanced far in those events. He is 9-9 on the season with one upset win over Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open. Popyrin managed to qualify for Monte-Carlo, but he lost in the second round to Nicolas Jarry.
Quentin Halys of France has one tour-level match win over Popyrin. It was a hard-fought match on the grass courts of Newport that ended in three sets, including a pair of tiebreakers. They have met four other times at lower level events and split the wins at 2-2. Popyrin has been the more successful of the two on clay.
Halys is playing well this season. The Frenchman is not only up to 66th in the world, but he also just reached the semifinals in Estoril and the fourth round at the Miami Masters. While the surface has historically favored Popyrin, Halys is in better form. Expect another tight three-setter, with Halys just snagging the win.
Cheryl pick: Halys in 3
Ricky pick: Halys in 3
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