Paris R2 previews and predictions: Del Potro vs. Sousa, Anderson vs. Verdasco

Juan Martin Del Potro and Kevin Anderson have plenty of work to do in Paris if they want to secure spots in the upcoming World Tour Finals. First they have to progress through their Wednesday openers, with Del Potro battling Joao Sousa and Anderson facing Fernando Verdasco.

Joao Sousa vs. (13) Juan Martin Del Potro

Del Potro and Sousa will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the second time this fall when they meet again in round two of the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Del Potro’s way; 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 last week in Basel. The 17th-ranked Argentine eventually finished runner-up in Basel to Roger Federer, thus falling one match short of a temporary spot in the World Tour Finals. Now Del Potro must reach at least the Paris semifinals in order to have a chance of qualifying for London.

Sousa earned his spot in this matchup by beating Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 7-5 on Tuesday. The world No. 58 from Portugal is a mediocre 25-31 this season with a pair of runner-up showings in Auckland and Kitzbuhel. Sousa has been successful during the fall swing in the past, but this time around he is a meager 4-8 since the end of the U.S. Open. There is no reason to think he can hang with Del Potro, who may be fatigued but will likely exhaust all resources in his effort to qualify for the year-end championship.

Pick: Del Potro in 2

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Fernando Verdasco vs. (12) Kevin Anderson

Anderson can bag one of the two remaining World Tour Finals spots by making a run to the Paris quarterfinals. The 16th-ranked South African’s stellar second half of the season includes a fourth-round finish at Wimbledon, a runner-up showing in Washington, D.C., and of course a trip to the U.S. Open final. Since that breakthrough performance in New York, however, Anderson is just 3-4 and seems to have worn down from a physical standpoint.

Up first for the No. 12 seed on Wednesday is an eighth career contest against Verdasco, who leads the had-to-head series 4-3. They have faced each other three times in the last seven months, with Verdasco prevailing on two occasions. The 39th-ranked Spaniard won on the red clay of Houston, lost at Wimbledon, and most recently prevailed 7-6(1), 7-6(1) two weeks ago in Stockholm. Verdasco, who lost to Del Potro in a third-set tiebreaker in the Stockholm semis, opened on Tuesday in Paris with a 7-6(1), 7-6(6) defeat of Andrey Rublev. World Tour Finals contenders have already been dropping like flies this week and Verdasco is playing well enough to keep that trend going.