Borna Coric will continue his Vienna campaign on Wednesday with a second-round match against Lucas Pouille. Meanwhile, Antwerp champion Kyle Edmund is getting back in action as he faces Diego Schwartzman.
(6) Borna Coric vs. Lucas Pouille
If either Juan Martin Del Potro or Rafael Nadal withdraws from the Nitto ATP Finals, Coric would put himself firmly in the London discussion heading into next week’s Paris Masters if he captures the Erste Bank Open title. Although he has a long way to go before that happens, the 13th-ranked Croat has to be among the favorites after recently finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters. Coric improved to 37-18 for the season with 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-4 victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Monday.
Next up for Coric on Wednesday is a second career contest against Pouille, who lost their only previous encounter 6-2, 7-5 at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters. Pouille’s 2018 campaign has been somewhat of a disappointment, with a modest 25-18 record and a 6-8 mark in his last 14 matches prior to arriving in Vienna. The 24th-ranked Frenchman managed to scrape past Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 on Tuesday, but that is not enough to suggest that he has enough in his arsenal for this test against Coric.
Pick: Coric in 2
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(8) Kyle Edmund vs. Diego Schwartzman
Edmund and Schwartzman will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers at the main-tour level on Wednesday. They previously faced each other earlier this year on the hard courts of Toronto, where Schwartzman coasted 6-1, 6-2. This is a showdown between the last seeded player in the draw (Edmund) and the highest-ranked unseeded competitor (Schwartzman).
And it should not disappoint. Edmund is coming off his first career ATP tile in Antwerp, where he trounced Richard Gasquet in the semis before outlasting Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in the final. Schwartzman is also wrapping up a strong season, owning a 32-23 record that is highlighted by his second career title in Rio de Janeiro. Although an edge in current form goes to Edmund, the 17th-ranked Argentine has to be feeling good about his past success in this matchup and his opponent is certainly tired both mentally and physically on the heels of last week’s performance.
Pick: Schwartzman in 3
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