Toronto R2 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Paire, Del Potro vs. Haase

An intriguing first-rounder between Nick Kyrgios and Stan Wawrinka highlights the Tuesday schedule in Toronto. Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is kicking off his campaign against Hyeon Chung.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Benoit Paire

Nadal and Paire will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Rogers Cup on Wednesday. All three of their previous encounters have gone the way of Nadal, who is a perfect 7-0 lifetime in total sets against Paire. That is especially unsurprising because all three of their previous meetings have come on clay, with the Spaniard most recently coasting 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 during first-round action at the 2017 French Open.

Paire picked up a much-needed win on Monday, ending a four-match losing streak and moving back over .500 for the season (20-19) by beating Jared Donaldson 6-3, 6-4. The competition level obviously increases dramatically in the form of Nadal, who is No. 1 in the world by more than 2,000 points and dominating the 2018 race to London in similarly comfortable fashion. His only losses this year are to Marin Cilic via retirement at the Australian Open, to Dominic Thiem on the heels of two consecutive clay-court titles, and to Novak Djokovic 10-8 in the fifth set at Wimbledon. Paire joining that list would be nothing short of inexplicable, even if this is Nadal’s first hard-court match since Melbourne.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8 games or fewer

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(3) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Robin Haase

Another lopsided head-to-head rivalry will add another chapter when Del Potro and Haase collide for the sixth time in their careers on Wednesday. Del Potro boasts a 5-0 record overall and he is 11-2 in total sets at the Dutchman’s expense. The two veterans most recently faced each other this spring on the hard courts of Miami, where the Argentine prevailed 6-4, 5-7, 6-2–improving to 4-0 against Haase on that surface.

Haase did extremely well to earn another shot at Del Potro, as he upset Kei Nishikori 7-5, 6-1 in his Toronto opener on Tuesday afternoon. The world No. 39 is attempting to defend points from last summer’s semifinal run in Montreal, which he will have to do if he wants to remain in U.S. Open seeding contention. Del Potro is coming off a runner-up performance in Los Cabos, and that final was played on Saturday (he lost to Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2) so the world No. 4 will have enjoyed three full days off before he takes the court for this one. If Del Potro’s fuel tank is full, he should be able to maintain his fine form and produce more mastery of Haase.

Pick: Del Potro in 2

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