Jannik Sinner is off to a winning start as a Grand Slam champion and he will continue his week in Rotterdam on Thursday against Gael Monfils. Hubert Hurkacz and Tallon Griekspoor are also in second-round action.
(1) Jannik Sinner vs. (WC) Gael Monfils
On the way to his first major title at the Australian Open, Sinner defeated Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round. The fourth-ranked Italian can only hope that the story is the exact same at the ABN AMRO Open. In his first appearance since triumphing at Melbourne Park, Sinner kicked off his Rotterdam campaign with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Van de Zandschulp on Wednesday afternoon.
Up next for the 22-year-old during second-round action on Thursday is a sixth meeting with Monfils, who trails the head-to-head series 4-1 (2-1 indoors). They faced each other once last season, when Sinner prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at the Toronto Masters. At 37 years old, the Frenchman is struggling down at No. 70 in the world and is just 2-3 in 2024 after beating Denis Shapovalov in a pair of tiebreakers on Tuesday. This should be a mostly routine match for Sinner, who is looking to go one step farther after finishing runner-up in Rotterdam last year.
Pick: Sinner in 2
(4) Hubert Hurkacz vs. Tallon Griekspoor
Hurkacz and Griekspoor will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. To say that their previous encounters have not disappointed would be a gross understatement. All three meetings in 2023 went the distance; Hurkacz won 6-3, 5-7, 6-7(13), 7-6(5), 6-4 at Roland Garros, Griekspoor prevailed 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(8) in Halle, and Hurkacz took last season’s rubber match 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 in Basel.
Both players survived three-setters in the Rotterdam opening round. Hurkacz squandered three match points in the second set and the saved three in the third before outlasting Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-7(9), 7-6(9). Griekspoor scraped past Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(3) while fighting off one match point. The 30th-ranked Dutchman generally posts strong results at home and reached the semifinals of this event last year, but he did not play well against Musetti. In what has all the makings of another hard-fought contest with small margins between the two players, Hurkacz will likely have an edge in the pressure-packed moments given his superior ability to win free points on serve.
Pick: Hurkacz in 3
WWW?
Sinner in 2; Hubie in another close one.
I predicted Griekspoor .