Seeds Hubert Hurkacz (No. 4) and Nuno Borges (No. 8) will be part of second-round competition on the indoor hard courts of Marseille on Thursday. They are going up against Zhizhen Zhang and Zizou Bergs, respectively.
Zhizhen Zhang vs. (4) Hubert Hurkacz
With top seed Daniil Medvedev slumping, Hurkacz probably has to be considered the title favorite at the Open 13. The 20th-ranked Pole is a force indoors and is coming off a semifinal showing in Rotterdam, where he lost an extremely high-quality showdown against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Hurkacz is 8-3 all time in Marseille with a title in 2023 and a semifinal performance last February (lost to Ugo Humbert).
Following a first-round bye, up first for the No. 4 seed on Thursday is a fifth meeting with Zhang. The head-to-head series (all on outdoor hard courts) stands at 3-1 in favor of Hurkacz, who most recently prevailed 6-3, 6-4 at last year’s United Cup. Two of their four encounters have been decided by a final-set tiebreaker. Zhang did well to beat Quentin Halys in a third-set ‘breaker on Monday, but the world No. 52 from China is still just 3-5 so far this season. Count on Hurkacz rolling into the quarterfinals.
Pick: Hurkacz in 2
(8) Nuno Borges vs. Zizou Bergs
Borges and Bergs will be squaring off for the second time already this year and for the third time overall. Bergs survived a roller-coaster ride last month in Auckland, where he won 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in the semifinals after Borges served for the match at 5-4 in the third. Their only other contest came in the final of a 2020 Futures event, where Borges triumphed 6-4, 7-6(6).
Given that Borges arguably should have won the Auckland battle and remains in awesome form, he should have a good chance to get revenge on Thursday. The world No. 39 from Portugal is 8-4 this season with a third-round effort at the Australian Open (lost to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets) and a three-set victory over Stan Wawrinka in his Marseille opener. Bergs is playing well, too, but Borges is simply in superior form.
Pick: Borges in 2
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