The ATP’s BMW Open tournament in Munich continues with the round of 16, as the quality of the matchups and the drama of the tournament both reach higher levels. That’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks.
Looking back to yesterday, we had a productive day with our tennis picks. Overall, we went 3-0. Second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut was down 5-3 in the third set of his round of 16 match on Wednesday, but he escaped. That worked well for us as we had him in our tennis picks. We also had Philipp Kohlschreiber for a second day in a row and he cashed in for us. He didn’t have many problems with Casper Ruud. Ruud only won seven games in total. Lastly, we had Alexander Zverev and he came through for us. He also won in straight sets, which kept our stress levels down. He disposed of Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the next round.
Looking ahead to Thursday, will fourth-seeded Fabio Fognini and top-seeded Gael Monfils also manage to move through to the quarterfinals? Those are some of the bigger concerns for the day. We’ll start with Fognini, who is among our selections for the day’s tennis picks.
Fabio Fognini vs. Guido Pella
Clay is Fognini’s best surface, and yet the Italian made the semifinals of one of the more prestigious hardcourt events of the tennis season, the Miami Masters 1000 event in late March and early April. Fognini is not a relentlessly consistent player – it is in his nature to be erratic – but compared to other seasons, he is doing relatively well, exhibiting more stability than in the past. That fact alone suggests that Fognini is the smart pick for this match. He and wife Flavia Pennetta are expecting their first child around May 20, so while some could reasonably say that Fognini is distracted, he is also playing with pride for his growing family. Fognini has been helped by the fact that Munich separates the round of 16 into two days, Wednesday and Thursday. By being able to wait until Thursday to play, Fognini has gained extra rest and extra time to prepare. If he had to play a Monday or Tuesday match, he might have felt rushed, but this is not a complicated logistical situation for him. He should be able to take care of business against Pella. We’ll roll with Fognini for our tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Fognini in straight sets
Martin Klizan vs. Mischa Zverev
This match is a very hard one to call, first because Klizan is always a dangerous player. Klizan is a lot like Fognini in that he hits potent and fierce groundstrokes but is not consistent and has generally underachieved in his career. This means he shouldn’t be expected to win, but it also means he can pounce on any given day against virtually everyone except the very best players in the sport, specifically the Big Four.
This is also a tough match to predict because Zverev plays a style of game (serve-and-volley, lots of net rushing) which is best suited for grass and a fast hardcourt. On clay, he is not as effective, and he has not been able to gain much traction in the first weeks of the clay season. This feels like a tight three-setter, but playing at home in Germany, Zverev merits a very slight edge because he might feel more comfortable. He’s the better choice for our tennis picks here.
Pick: Zverev in three sets
Gael Monfils vs. Hyeon Chung
This is a very tricky match because it’s Monfils’ first match after an injury-caused layoff. Monfils is the better player than Chung, but he might be too rusty in this match. Moreover, Chung – while lacking Monfils’ credentials – has been playing very well of late. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, Denis Istomin, and Alexander Zverev in Barcelona. That run of form is hard to deny, and Monfils probably won’t play anything close to his best. Take Chung with your tennis picks in this spot. We’re looking for an upset in this spot, so hopefully we cash in.
Pick: Chung in three sets
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