Daniil Mevedev and Fernando Verdasco will get main-draw action at Queen’s Club started when they meet in an intriguing first-rounder on Monday. Diego Schwartzman and Alexander Bublik are also part of a busy schedule.
Fernando Verdasco vs. (4) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev and Verdasco will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they clash in round one of the Fever-Tree Championships on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in Medvedev’s favor after he prevailed 6-2, 7-5 a few months ago on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam. However, their only previous grass-court encounter went Verdasco’s way via a 6-4, 6-1 rout last summer in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
It has been a tale of two seasons for Medvedev in 2019. The 13th-ranked Russian was without question one of the best players in the world through the early stages of the clay-court swing, but he is 0-5 in his last five matches dating back to the Barcelona final. Medvedev’s first grass-court appearance of the year resulted in an opening Stuttgart loss to Lucas Pouille. Verdasco has been nowhere near as mercurial, with consistently mediocre results; nothing great but nothing terrible. The 34th-ranked Spaniard has won his opener at 10 of 13 tournaments this season and he should be able to make it 11 of 14 at the expense of a struggling opponent.
Pick: Verdasco in 3
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Diego Schwartzman vs. (Q) Alexander Bublik
It looks like the 2019 campaign will go down as a coming-out party for Bublik, who has been touted as an up-and-coming prospect for a while now and has really started to emerge at 21 years old. The Russian’s season is highlighted by three Challenger titles an second-round performances as a qualifier at the Miami Masters and Roland Garros. Up to a career-high ranking of No. 85 in the world, Bublik pushed eventual runner-up Dominic Thiem to the brink of a fifth set before succumbing 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5.
Bublik qualified for another main draw this weekend at Queen’s Club, getting the best of Jack Draper and Tommy Paul. His reward is a first-ever meeting with Schwartzman, who is a decent 19-14 this year. This is the first grass-court match of 2019 for him and he is a horrendous 1-8 lifetime on the green stuff. This will be a tough one for Schwartzman, also because Bublik’s big-serving, change-of-pace style is much better-suited for grass.
Pick: Bublik in 2
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Med and Bublik in three
At least the story and picture of Verdasco was good entertainment Lol.