Thursday match picks, including Murray vs. Stepanek and Anderson vs. Stakhovsky

Queen’s Club

Adrian Mannarino vs. (2) Tomas Berdych: Berdych struggled in his opener against James Duckworth. We’ll have to just assume the Czech will improve in his second match on grass. Berdych in 2.

(15) Radek Stepanek vs. (3) Andy Murray: Big things should be expected of the 2013 Wimbledon champion on grass. This is not the easiest of matchups, but Murray has one of the besting passing shots in the business and Stepanek will be target practice at times up there at the net. Murray in 2.

(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. Sam Querrey: Querrey won a three-tiebreaker match with Jeremy Chardy then had no trouble with Denis Kudla. He will be able to make this interesting with his serve and because Wawrinka has cooled off. Wawrinka in 3.

Marinko Matosevic vs. (5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Matosevic is coming off a great win over Cilic, but grass should help Tsonga get back on track if he serves big and keeps points short. Tsonga in 2.

Kenny De Schepper vs. (10) Feliciano Lopez: De Schepper is coming off an upset of Ernests Gulbis, but Gulbis was making a quick transition from clay after reaching the French Open semis. Lopez won’t be so generous. Lopez in 3.

(4) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin: Roger-Vasselin won the French Open doubles title last weekend and has already played two three-setters at Queen’s Club. So much tennis will likely catch up with him. Dimitrov in 2.

Jarkko Nieminen vs. (8) Alexandr Dolgopolov: Advancing two rounds on grass is outstanding for Nieminen. Another win is not out of the question, but Dolgopolov’s straight-setter against Denis Istomin should give the Ukrainian some confidence. Dolgopolov in 3.

(7) Kevin Anderson vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky: Anderson’s serve will be effective on the slick stuff, but Stakhovsky’s style of play works perfectly on this surface (just ask Roger Federer). Stakhovsky in 3.

[polldaddy poll=8117599]

[polldaddy poll=8117601]

Halle

Joao Sousa vs. (2) Roger Federer: On clay this would at least be a contest. It won’t be on grass. Federer in 2.

Ivo Karlovic vs. Yen-Hsun Lu: Lu may be more comfortable on grass than on any other surface, but it is even more favorable for Karlovic. Karlovic in 2.

Steve Johnson vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili: An in-form Johnson registers at a career-high ranking of No. 63 in the world and he already has a week of grass-court tennis under his belt, having reached the Nottingham Challenger quarterfinals. Johnson in 3.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Dustin Brown: Nadal almost never fares well the week after winning Roland Garros. As a result, this could be extremely competitive…but likely still a two-setter. Nadal in 2.

[polldaddy poll=8117604]

[polldaddy poll=8117608]