Paris R2 previews and predictions: Struff vs. Khachanov, Zverev vs. Verdasco

Karen Khachanov will begin his Paris title defense when he takes the court against Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday afternoon. Second-round action is also getting underway with a showdown between Alexander Zverev and Fernando Verdasco.

(8) Karen Khachanov vs. Jan-Lennard Struff

The pressure will be on Khachanov at the BNP Paribas Masters as he tries to avoid a plunge down the rankings. Having won the tournament last year to accrue 1000 ranking points, the Russian is No. 8 in the world but 16th in the race to London. As those numbers suggest, Khachanov will fall to no better than No. 16 in the rankings if he loses his opening match and he has a realistic chance of plummeting all the way to 18th. The 23-year-old is a disappointing 29-25 this season with only two semifinal appearances and no finals.

Up first for Khachanov on Tuesday is a second career contest at the ATP level against Struff, who lost their only previous encounter 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on the grass of Halle this summer. Struff is wrapping up the best season of his career at 29 years old, with 33 main-tour match wins (26 losses). The 36th-ranked German is coming off a quarterfinal effort in Basel and he continued his push for 2020 Australian Open seeding by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday. With Khachanov surely feeling some pressure, this is a good opportunity for an in-form Struff.

Pick: Struff in 3

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(6) Alexander Zverev vs. Fernando Verdasco

Zverev and Verdasco are no strangers to first-round showdowns in Paris. They previously collided right away at Roland Garros, where Verdasco scored a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 upset in 2017. That gave the Spaniard a 2-1 overall lead in the head-to-head series, also with a 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3 victory on the indoor hard courts of Metz in 2015 in addition to a 7-5, 6-3 setback at the 2017 Madrid Masters.

Despite underwhelming by his standards in 2019, Zverev has the inside track on one of the last two spots at the Nitto ATP Finals. The sixth-ranked German is No. 7 in the race to London, where he lifted the trophy last fall. Although Zverev lost his Basel opener to Taylor Fritz, his Asian swing included a semifinal finish in Beijing and a runner-up performance in Shanghai. Verdasco, who overcame Borna Coric 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Monday, has not won more than a single match at any tournament since Wimbledon. Zverev should have the edge as he tries to clinch a place at the O2 Arena.

Pick: Zverev in 3

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