Toronto previews and predictions: Berdych vs. Coric, Dolgopolov vs. Young

Tomas Berdych will begin his Toronto campaign when he takes the court against Borna Coric as second-round action starts up on Tuesday. One of the last first-rounders, meanwhile, features Alexandr Dolgopolov and Donald Young.

Borna Coric vs. (5) Tomas Berdych

Berdych and Coric will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Rogers Cup on Tuesday. Both of their previous meetings have gone the way of Berdych, who prevailed 6-3, 6-2 last summer on the grass courts of Halle before getting the job done 6-1, 7-6(3) earlier this season in Indian Wells. The eighth-ranked Czech is a mediocre 28-13 for the year, but with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray hogging so many points, he still has enough to be in position for another World Tour Finals berth. Berdych has picked up some much-needed of late by reaching the French Open quarterfinals and the Wimbledon semis.

Coric punched his ticket to the last 32 in Toronto by scraping past fellow Croat Ivan Dodig 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Although the 19-year-old has plateaued just a bit in the aftermath of a 2014 and ’15 breakout, he should be gaining confidence from a decisive Davis Cup victory over the United States’ Jack Sock prior to a third-round performance in Washington, D.C. (lost to eventual champion Gael Monfils). Coric’s defense will force Berdych to hit more balls than he would like, but the favorite’s firepower should eventually be enough to hit his opponent off the court.

Pick: Berdych in 3

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Donald Young vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov

In part due to having picked up only two total Grand Slam match victories in 2016, Dolgopolov is in jeopardy of missing out on a seeded spot at the season’s fourth major–the U.S. Open. The 38th-ranked Ukrainian was doomed by being unseeded at the Australian Open (lost to Roger Federer in the second round), missed the French Open, and was upset by Daniel Evans in round two at the All-England Club. Dolgopolov is coming off a third-round showing in Washington, D.C., where he battled past Jordan Thompson before succumbing to Sam Querrey.

Up first for the 27-year-old on Tuesday is a third career encounter with Young. They split their two head-to-head showdowns in 2015, when Young prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Delray Beach before Dolgopolov exacted revenge with a 6-4, 6-4 win on the lawn of Nottingham. Young is a modest 12-14 for his 2016 campaign and coming off a second-round finish in Washington (beat Ernesto Escobedo, lost to Bernard Tomic). The 57th-ranked American has been turning in consistently decent results, but he does not have the talent to dictate play against Dolgopolov. This match will be entirely on Dolgopolov’s racket–and he is playing just well enough right now for that to be a good thing.

Pick: Dolgopolov in 3

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