Stefanos Tsitsipas will look to rebound from an early Australian Open exit when he takes the court in Rotterdam on Tuesday. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jan-Lennard Struff are also getting things started at this 500-point event.
Hubert Hurkacz vs. (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Neither player has been on the pro tour for a particularly long time, but Tsitsipas and Hurkacz have already faced each other five times heading into Tuesday night’s first-round showdown at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head series 4-1, including 2-0 on indoor hard courts (5-0 in total sets during those matches, although three were in an abbreviated format at the 2018 NextGen ATP Finals). They most recently squared off last fall in Shanghai, where the Greek survived a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(5) thriller.
Tsitsipas has not yet recaptured the 2019 form that carried him to the Nitto ATP Finals title. The world No. 6 is just 2-3 this season after getting upset by Milos Raonic in round three of the Australian Open. Hurkacz was outstanding through two weeks (3-0 record at the ATP Cup and a semifinal showing in Auckland) but lost to John Millman in straight sets during second-round action Down Under. The world No. 29 from Poland should be competitive like he was in Shanghai, but Tsitsipas has mostly excelled in this matchup and he won his most recent indoor hard-court event just a few months ago in London.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 3
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Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
Auger-Aliassime and Struff will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the second time already this season. They recently collided at the ATP Cup, where Struff dominated 6-1, 6-4. The 34th-ranked German proceeded to get the worst possible draw in Melbourne, where he fell to Novak Djokovic in the first round but managed to take a set off the eventual champion.
Although Auger-Aliassime owns one more win than Struff this season (four to three), he has required 10 matches to do so and none of the victories was at the expense of anyone better than No. 96 in the world. The 19-year-old Canadian is coming off a second-round performance in Montpellier, where he defeated Damir Dzumhur and then lost to Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Auger-Aliassime is starting to play better than he did at the ATP Cup, but Struff has to be confident based on how last month’s meeting transpired.
Pick: Struff in 3
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