Fellow seeded players Kevin Anderson and Gilles Muller will begin their Nottingham campaigns on Tuesday. Anderson is going up against Ivan Dodig, while Muller is set for an all-lefty battle with Jiri Vesely.
(1) Kevin Anderson vs. Ivan Dodig
This is not something you see every day: Anderson played in qualifying one week (Queen’s Club) and will be the No. 1 seed at a tournament the very next week. The 24th-ranked South African earned his spot in the main draw the hard way but promptly fell to Bernard Tomic in straight sets. Thus Anderson’s struggles have continued, as the season has seen him play just 11 ATP-level matches (3-8 record).
Up first for Anderson at the AEGON Open on Tuesday is a third career meeting with Dodig, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. The Croat lost in 2010 Shanghai qualifying and in a four-set Davis Cup rubber one year later in South Africa. Dodig booked his spot in this second-round matchup by rolling over Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-3 on Monday. The world No. 76 is a mediocre 7-9 for the season and is coming off a bad first-round ‘s-Hertongenbosch loss to Tatsuma Ito. Especially on grass, this is a good opportunity for Anderson to start getting back on track.
Pick: Anderson in 3
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(8) Gilles Muller vs. Jiri Vesely
Muller and Vesely will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Tuesday. For Muller, the past few months have progressed just about how anyone would expect. The 41st-ranked Luxembourgian played a mere two matches during the clay-court swing (lost both) but has heated up on his preferred surface of grass. He finished runner-up in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and is coming off a quarterfinal performance at Queen’s Club.
Vesely’s 2016 campaign is highlighted by a shocking second-round upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Monte-Carlo. Not too surprisingly, it has been downhill ever since for the 22-year-old Czech. Although the clay swing ended with a whimper, Vesely may have recaptured at least some momentum at Queen’s Club. He got a lucky-loser spot in the main draw after falling to Anderson and beat Jeremy Chardy before succumbing to eventual runner-up Milos Raonic. In this battle of lefties, the world No. 64 may be overmatched against a more experienced grass-court opponent.
Pick: Muller in 2
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Muller in two and Anderson in three