Seeds Denis Shapovalov and Fernando Verdasco may have tough tests on their hands during second-round action in Stockholm on Thursday. They are going up against Ernests Gulbis and Philipp Kohlschreiber, respectively.
(Q) Ernests Gulbis vs. (7) Denis Shapovalov
Aside from successful performances at Roland Garros (second round of the main draw as a qualifier) and Wimbledon (fourth round as a qualifier) this is already Gulbis’ best result at the ATP level in 2018. The 145th-ranked Latvian qualified for the Intrum Stockholm Open with straight-set victories over Markus Eriksson and Julien Benneteau and then disposed of Swedish wild card Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday.
The competition level ratchets up dramatically for Gulbis on Thursday in the form of Shapovalov, who is the No. 7 seed and 30th-ranked player in the world. He endured a scare against fellow Canadian Peter Polansky in round one but survived it 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. The 19-year-old is now 35-25 for his 2018 campaign, with a recent semifinal showing at the 500-point event in Tokyo. This will not be easy for Shapovalov, but his forehand should stand up stronger than that of his erratic opponent.
Pick: Shapovalov in 3
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(8) Fernando Verdasco vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
Verdasco and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers and for the first time since 2010 when they finally meet again on Thursday. Kohlschreiber is leading the head-to-head series 5-4, including 3-1 on hard courts (1-0 indoors). The 34-year-old German did well to set up another showdown with Verdasco, outlasting an in-form Alex de Minaur 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 6-1 in round one. Kohlschreiber now owns a winning record (22-21) for the season and remains in contention for 2019 Australian Open seeding at No. 35 in the rankings.
The sailing was smoother for Verdasco on Tuesday, as he also faced a confident opponent but made routine 6-4, 6-2 work of Matthew Ebden. Stockholm’s eighth seed is 29-25 for the year and now 11-6 lifetime at this tournament, coming off a semifinal showing last fall (lost to eventual champion Juan Martin Del Potro in a third-set tiebreaker). But Kohlschreiber has to feeling good following his defeat of de Minaur and he should have a good chance at continuing his hard-court success against the world No. 29.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3
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who ya got?
Exact same picks as Ricky