The 2024 ATP Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships kick off its major draw motion on Wednesday in Tokyo. Already featuring on the schedule can be No. 2 seed Hubert Hurkacz and final 12 months’s semifinalist Shintaro Mochizuki. Who do you assume will come out on high?
ATP Tokyo Day 1 Predictions
Mariano Navone vs Luciano Darderi
Head-to-head: 3-3
They’ve performed one another six instances throughout the final 12 months, however all these conferences got here on clay. Hard court docket is a a lot much less pure floor for each gamers with Luciano Darderi going 1-7 on it this 12 months and Mariano Navone being 1-5. But over the course of the season, it was positively the Italian who did barely extra to impress away from the grime. His serve and forehand will be harmful on faster courts with extra playtime as effectively.
Prediction: Darderi in 3
Botic van de Zandschulp vs Matteo Berrettini
Head-to-head: Berrettini 3-0
Matteo Berrettini just lately beat Botic van de Zandschulp from a set down at Davis Cup, however it was no mattress of roses. The Dutchman regained lots of confidence over the summer season, culminating within the win over Carlos Alcaraz on the US Open. Outdoors he ought to really feel a little bit extra comfy on this matchup than he did beneath the roof as effectively. But Berrettini is usually a category above and he would possibly merely play higher on the day than he did throughout their match ten days in the past.
Prediction: Berrettini in 3
Shintaro Mochizuki vs Ugo Humbert
Head-to-head: First assembly
Shintaro Mochizuki had that semifinal run in Tokyo final 12 months and whereas these factors aren’t dropping till late October, he would possibly endure an enormous dip within the rankings then. His outcomes since haven’t performed a lot to show that the Japanese is able to play like this each week. Will he be capable of recapture some of that 2023 magic? It’s not utterly out of the query, however it’s a outcome that may defy logic once more. Nine out of ten instances Ugo Humbert is simply too robust right here.
Prediction: Humbert in 2
Hubert Hurkacz vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: Hurkacz 2-0
Hubert Hurkacz hasn’t performed for the reason that US Open or since letting his coach of 5 years, Craig Boynton, go. Getting some relaxation ought to be a very good name from him as in New York it was clear he’s nonetheless not absolutely recovered from his latest knee process. This isn’t an apparent match with Marcos Giron having the shot tolerance to maintain him within the rallies and forcing the Pole to provide you with some aggressive play off the bottom. But it’s the Tokyo second seed who stays the favourite.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
