Alexander Zverev will be looking to maintain his fine form and pull off an upset of Gilles Simon in the Rotterdam second round on Thursday. Viktor Troicki and Hyeon Chung are also in action.
(WC) Alexander Zverev vs. (3) Gilles Simon
Simon and Zverev will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Thursday. Zverev is in outstanding form, picking up right where he left off in 2015. The 18-year-old German is up to a career-high ranking of No. 70 in the world thanks in a part to a semifinal showing last week in Montpellier, where he also finished runner-up with his brother in doubles. Zverev began his Rotterdam campaign on Wednesday with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Vasek Pospisil.
Simon has lost his first match in two events this season, although one ended 12-10 in a second-set tiebreaker and the other came at the hands of a going-for-broke Dustin Brown in Montpellier. The 15th-ranked Frenchman made sure not to make the same mistake again, as he got past Robin Haase 7-6(5), 6-1 on Wednesday. Simon also reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he famously drew 100 unforced errors out of Novak Djokovic before succumbing in five sets. Zverev would prefer a faster surface than the one in Rotterdam in order to implement his big-hitting game against a counter-puncher of Simon’s caliber. The veteran will likely showcase too much experience and guile in what should be an entertaining encounter.
Pick: Simon in 2
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Hyeon Chung vs. (8) Viktor Troicki
Few players aside from the very best in the world are in better form than Troicki at the start of this 2016 campaign. The 22nd-ranked Serb is 11-3 on the season with a title in Sydney and runner-up showing last week in Sofia (lost to a red-hot Roberto Bautista Agut). Troicki made a quick turnaround to overcome Andrey Kuznetsov 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 in his Rotterdam opener on Wednesday.
Up next for the eighth seed is a first-ever meeting with Chung. The 19-year-old Korean has peaked as high as No. 51 in the world and he currently registers at 69th. He is on the way back up thanks to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Tuesday. Inconsistency, though, will almost always be a problem for any teenager on the pro tour. Chung, for example, suffered a bad 6-2, 6-3 loss to Marius Copil in the Sofia first round. Troicki’s experience and current match toughness should see him through to the quarters.
Pick: Troicki in 3
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Nooooo I turned on the tv right after he had won. I did see slow motion of his reaction though. Sweet win for Zverev. I think Monfils will beat him in QF but that’s huge victory for the German.
500 QF is huge points
Wow…!!
Have to check where that puts him
Zverev Minor will be ranked mid-50’s.
top 50 if he beats Le
Monfils should beat zverev in the quarters. But I think the win over Simon will give Zverev some real confidence, especially the way he won it.
NNY: ‘especially the way he won it’
Agree wholehearedly. To have survived after the set back and fought through the cramping was hugely impressive.