Karen Khachanov and Alexei Popyrin are set for an intriguing first-round clash in Rotterdam on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Netherlands’ own Tallon Griekspoor will try to treat the home crowd to an upset of Aslan Karatsev.
Karen Khachanov vs. Alexei Popyrin
Khachanov and Popyrin will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they meet again in round one of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Tuesday. Their only previous encounter came right around this time last year in Dubai, and it did not disappoint. Khachanov prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4); each player dropped serve only once in the entire match. Popyrin lost despite firing 18 aces to Khachanov’s five.
The Aussie will have to serve extremely well again, because Khachanov is the superior all-court player at the moment. Whereas Popyrin is a dreadful 1-4 to start the season, Khachanov is 6-3 with a runner-up performance in Adelaide. The 28th-ranked Russian has advanced multiple rounds at all three of his events so far in 2022. This should be more straightforward for him than last year’s showdown against Popyrin, who was coming off a title in Singapore at the time.
Pick: Khachanov in 2
(7) Aslan Karatsev vs. (WC) Tallon Griekspoor
A new wave–albeit not a particularly young one–of Dutch players has arrived, with both Griekspoor and Botic Van de Zandschulp starting to make names for themselves in their mid-20s. Griekspoor ended last season on a ridiculous 25-match winning streaking, capturing five Challenger titles in a row. So far this year he has lost only to Rafael Nadal (Melbourne), Pablo Carreno Busta (in five sets at the Australian Open), and eventual Montpellier champion Alexander Bublik in a pair of tiebreakers.
Up first for the world No. 62 on Tuesday is Karatsev, the No. 7 seed. Karatsev was awesome at the ATP Cup, but he lost to Adrian Mannarino in the Aussie Open second round and then exited Pune right away with a straight-set loss at the hands of Elias Ymer. The 14th-ranked Russian is ripe for an upset, and Griekspoor is certainly playing well enough to make it happen.
Pick: Griekspoor in 3
WWW?
Knov in 2; Greek in 2.