David Goffin will kick off his Montpellier campaign when he goes up against the dangerous but erratic Alexander Bublik on Thursday. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Pierre-Hugues Herbert are also in second-round action.
Alexander Bublik vs. (2) David Goffin
You never know what Bublik is going to bring to the table on any given day. The 54th-ranked Kazakh features a high-risk, high-reward style highlighted by blasting second serves at first-serve pace–a la Daniil Medvedev against Novak Djokovic last summer in Cincinnati. Bublik was up to his usual tricks on Tuesday at the Open Sud de France, where he fired 20 aces but double-faulted a ridiculous 12 times before outlasting Henri Laaksonen was 6-7(2), 6-1, 7-6(2).
Goffin, who earned a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed, is 5-2 so far this season with an ATP Cup victory over Rafael Nadal. The 10th-ranked Belgian has lost only to in-form opponents Dan Evans (ATP Cup) and Andrey Rublev (third round of the Australian Open). Goffin will get a ton of balls back in play, so Bublik will have to produce a consistent serving performance in order to have a chance. That is something the underdog is generally unable to do.
Pick: Goffin in 2
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(5) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Auger-Aliassime and Herbert will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. The first month of 2020 was mostly a disappointment for Auger-Aliassime, who went 1-3 at the ATP Cup and lost right away in Melbourne to Ernests Gulbis but also won two matches in Adelaide and pushed Rublev to a third-set tiebreaker. Ranked 21st in the world, the Canadian advanced on Tuesday by beating Damir Dzumhur 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2.
Herbert is a solid 4-2 this year with losses to Goffin (in five sets at the Australian Open) and Rublev (6-4, 6-3 in Doha). The 67th-ranked Frenchman eased past Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 7-5 in his Montpellier opener, but this will be a much different matchup. Auger-Aliassime’s return of serve and passing shots are two strengths of his game, which should serve him well against a net-loving opponent.
Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 3
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