Stuttgart R2 previews and predictions: Federer vs. Fritz, Cilic vs. Stepanek

Roger Federer’s grass-court swing will begin as he hopes to return from his latest injury absence in style. Federer, who missed the French Open, is going up against Taylor Fritz on Wednesday in Stuttgart, while Marin Cilic is facing Radek Stepanek.

(1) Roger Federer vs. Taylor Fritz

Federer will be in action for the first time since the Rome Masters in early May when he takes the court for second-round action at the Mercedes Cup on Wednesday. The 34-year-old’s 2016 campaign has been on again and off again, with multiple withdrawals stemming from knee surgery, illness, and a back injury. After being sidelined since the Australian Open, Federer compiled a modest 3-2 record at clay-court stops in Monte-Carlo and Rome. He was an unable to suit up for the French Open, so the Swiss started practicing on grass while his rivals slugged it out on the terre battue of Roland Garros.

Up first for Federer is Fritz, whom the top seed has never faced. Fritz have himself a shot at the 17-time Grand Slam champion by saving one match point and overcoming Fabrice Martin 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-1 on Tuesday. The 18-year-old American now owns nine of his 10 career ATP-level match victories this season. Fritz has the powerful, flat-hitting kind of game that can work well on grass, but he is still a novice on this surface and the pressure of playing one of the all-time greats will not go unnoticed. Look for Federer to shake off his rust in time to see off Fritz without too much trouble.

Pick: Federer in 2 losing 8 games or fewer

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(Q) Radek Stepanek vs. (2) Marin Cilic

Cilic and Stepanek will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time in seven years when they finally meet again on Wednesday. Stepanek is leading the head-to-head series 2-1 after most recently getting the job done on the indoor hard courts of Basel in 2009 via a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision. They previously faced each other twice on clay, a surface that does not suit Stepanek’s game to perfection but one that certainly did not hurt him a few weeks ago in Paris. The 37-year-old Czech qualified for the main draw and promptly took the first two sets from eventual runner-up Andy Murray before the Scot ended up wining in five. Stepanek also qualified in Stuttgart with defeats of Nikola Mektic and James Ward before he beat Denis Istomin 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday.

Whereas Stepanek has already played three matches at this tournament, Cilic is just now beginning his week in the wake of an opening-round bye. The 13th-ranked Croat is an extremely disappointing 16-11 for the year, which mostly recently saw him lose right away at Roland Garros to Marco Trungelliti. Cilic is, however, a decent grass-court player. He reached the semifinals of this Stuttgart event last summer and went on to make a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. The well-rested No. 2 seed should be able to start getting back on track in what will likely be a high-quality contest on this surface.

Pick: Cilic in 3

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