Paris R2 previews and predictions: Carreno Busta vs. Struff, Tsitsipas vs. Humbert

Pablo Carreno Busta will take on Jan-Lennard Struff as second-round action gets underway at the Paris Masters on Tuesday afternoon. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Ugo Humbert are also on the schedule.

(9) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Jan-Lennard Struff

This may just be the pick of all the second-round matches. Carreno Busta has been on an absolute Grand Slam tear in the past few months. The Spaniard made his way all the way to the semifinals of the U.S. Open, where he finally lost to Alexander Zverev. And even though clay isn’t his best surface, he went into Roland Garros and pocketed a quarterfinal there as well.

Struff hasn’t had spectacular results since his quarterfinal run at the Cincinnati Masters, but he played well enough last week in Vienna to really press world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas. The German is ranked No. 35 in the world, just off his career high of 29.

PCB has a 2-1 head-to-head edge over Struff, with the Spaniard earning a win in their last meeting at the 2019 Hamburg event. Struff is playing well enough to perhaps get a set, but Carreno Busta will have his eye on a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Cheryl pick: Carreno Busta in 3

Ricky pick: Carreno Busta in 3

(2) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Ugo Humbert

Tsitsipas was nothing short of inspiring in his run to the semifinals of the French Open. He teetered on the brink of defeat in the first round to Jaume Munar, going down two sets to the world No. 109. He also trailed two sets to love in the semis against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and clawed his way back even then, too.

Of course, Djokovic eventually got the win, but not before Tsitsipas proved that he’s made of some stern stuff. With that being said, the Greek tired. He will soon head into the Nitto ATP Finals as the defending champion. It’s difficult to imagine Tsitsipas burning what’s left of his energy in Paris.

Tsitispas got pretty unlucky in his first opponent in Bercy. Ugo Humbert just won the title in Antwerp, where he beat the likes of Carreno Busta. The Frenchman will go into Tuesday’s match riding a wave of confidence.

The “home court” advantage probably won’t mean much, since there will be no crowd due to a second French COVID lockdown. Still, this is one upset that won’t really be an upset.

Cheryl pick: Humbert in 2

Ricky pick: Humbert in 3