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The 51st edition of the 2024 ABN AMRO Open in Rotteram kicked off on Monday.
David Goffin and Milos Raonic were among the early winners on the first day of the tournament. The Belgian prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (12), 6-1 over rising young star Dino Prizmic in his opener.
Raonic's time at the Australian Open was cut short due to an injury as he was forced to retire halfway through his first round contest. He has now made a winning return to the tour with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Jesper de Jong.
The first round action continues on Tuesday too, with quite a few big names in the fray. Here's a look at the predictions for some of the key matches set for Day 2 of the ABN AMRO Open:
#1 Hubert Hurkacz vs Jiri Lehecka
Hurkacz started the season by representing his country in the United Cup. While they made it to the final, the 27-year-old wasted match points during his singles tie against Alexander Zverev. It proved to be costly as the Polish contingent later lost the decisive mixed doubles match and finished as the runners-up.
Hurkacz got over the disappointment with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, his first at the venue. He lost to Daniil Medvedev in a closely fought five-set tussle. As the defending champion at last week's Open 13 Provence, he was defeated by Ugo Humbert in the semifinals.
Lehecka was at the United Cup as well, but lost both of his singles ties as the Czech Republic were bundled out in the group stage. He then claimed his maiden ATP title at the Adelaide International, but fell in the second round of the Australian Open.
Lehecka bowed out in the second round of the Open 13 Provence too. Winning his first career title has been the sole bright spot for him this season. Hurkacz has been more consistent in comparison and plays well on indoor hardcourts, where his serve is a huge asset. As such, he'll be favored to win.
Predicted winner: Hubert Hurkacz
#2 Alexander Bublik vs Borna Coric
Bublik and Coric both crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open. The latter then competed in a Challenger tournament, but lost in the final. The two recently faced off in the final of the Open Sud de France over a week ago.
Coric took the first set, but Bublik stormed back for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory and captured his fourth career title. In fact, the Kazakh staged a comeback from a set down all of his matches en route to the title.
Coric found it tough to counter Bublik's serve as the match went on and started to fade away in baseline rallies as well. The latter hit at least 10 aces in all of his matches at the Open Sud de France and won around 76% of his first serve points on average.
If Bublik replicates those numbers yet again, Coric could find it tough to keep up with him. However, if he has learned his lesson from their previous battle, the Croat has the game to turn things around as well.
Predicted winner: Alexander Bublik
#3 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Despite winning both of his singles ties at the United Cup, Davidovich Fokina was unable to help Spain get out of the group stage. His time at the Australian Open came to an end in the second round as he was upset by Nuno Borges in straight sets.
Davidovich Fokina then competed in the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. He scored wins over Gregoire Barrere and Emil Ruusuvuori, but lost 6-1, 6-4 to eventual champion Humbert.
Struff saved match points during his first round win over Maric Cilic at the Hong Kong Open, but went down to Sebastian Ofner in the next round. He failed to string together consecutive wins at the Australian Open too, as Miomir Kecmanovic sent him packing in the second round.
Struff then lost his singles tie at the Davis Cup qualifiers. He has struggled to get going this season and all but one of his matches have gone to a deciding set. Fokina hasn't set the tour abuzz with his performance either, but has won two matches in a row at the very least.
Having made it to the last eight in Marseille last week, the Spaniard has a semblance on momentum. If Davidovich Fokina raises his level even in the slightest, he has a decent shot at victory.
Predicted winner: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
#4 Marton Fucsovics vs Fabian Marozsan
Fucsovics's time Down Under was quite forgettable as he lost in the opening rounds of the Brisbane International and the Australian Open. He notched up his first win of the season during the Davis Cup qualifiers as he prevailed over Struff in straight sets.
Marozsan, on the other hand, has improved with every tournament. He fell at the first hurdle at the Hong Kong Open, then made it to the second round of the ASB Classic, and reached the third round of the Australian Open after that.
Fucsovics' career has started to slow down just a bit, while Marozsan has been on a steady rise. The former was the finalist at the ABN AMRO Open back in 2021, but his level isn't the same these days.
Fucsovics has been far from his best this season so far as well. Based on their form, Marozsan will be expected to make a winning start here.
Predicted winner: Fabian Marozsan
