The ATP’s BMW Open tournament in Munich enters the round of 16, which means that the top four seeded players in the event – who got byes in the first round – begin their campaigns in Germany. That’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks.
Looking back to Tuesday, we had a winning day with our tennis picks. We went 2-1 overall. Our lone loss came with Andreas Seppi, who fought hard but lost to Horacio Zeballos. Two of the three sets went to a seventh game. However, we still picked up a pair of wins. One of those wins came via Mischa Zverev, who outlasted Dustin Brown in straight sets. We also had Philipp Kohlschreiber, which was our easiest pick of the day. He won in straight sets beating Casper Ruud. Ruud only managed to win a total of seven games.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, if there are worries about players’ fitness after the Barcelona and Budapest tournaments, the presence of an extra bye should minimize them from a betting standpoint. Here are three matches worth considering on Wednesday:
Marius Copil vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
Copil, from Romania, is a clay-court specialist. He hits the ball comfortably on this surface, whereas he is out of his element on others. With a good draw, Copil could reasonably have been expected to move into the quarterfinals. However, Bautista Agut is a rock-solid clay-courter. He is not spectacular, and he has not done quite as well as he should have in recent tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, where he did not play up to his seeding. However, he ran into hot players in both tournaments: Diego Schwartzman in Monte Carlo, Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Barcelona. Bautista Agut has established a high enough standard in recent weeks that he should be able to beat a player of Copil’s stature. It’s bad luck for the Romanian, but it’s the right betting decision. Take Bautista Agut with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Bautista Agut in straight sets
Jeremy Chardy vs. Alexander Zverev
This match owns some intrigue, because Zverev has struggled in recent weeks and has not looked very comfortable on clay at all. His big hardcourt spring has not carried over into Europe and a different set of surface and weather conditions. The question becomes, “Can Chardy take advantage?” In the attempt to answer this question, one must look at the Barcelona ATP 500 tournament last week. Chardy was thoroughly beaten by Kyle Edmund in a relatively straightforward match. The signature part of Edmund’s game is his powerful forehand. Edmund bludgeoned the ball from the back of the court and put Chardy off balance. When one stops to consider what Zverev brings to the table, the German has a blistering two-handed backhand. His forehand is not as good as Edmund’s, but the same reality emerges: He can crush the ball from the back of the court and not allow Chardy, who is a skilled offensive player but a mediocre defender, to feel comfortable on the court. The matchup does not work for Chardy. Zverev, for all his struggles, remains the better pick. Go with Zverev for your tennis picks.
Pick: Zverev in three sets
Horacio Zeballos vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
This is a very close matchup, with powerful reasons to go either way. Zeballos is the hotter player, having gone deep in Barcelona and then bouncing right back to oust Andreas Seppi – a talented veteran – in three tough sets on Tuesday. Zeballos is a clay-court specialist who is playing some very sound ball right now.
On the other hand, Kohlschreiber loves playing in Munich before a home crowd. He settles into this tournament and generally goes very deep in it, semifinals or better being a regular occurrence. That track record of success, accompanied by a smooth first-round victory, should put Kohlschreiber in a good frame of mind, and when the German is positive on the court, his talent eclipses most of his peers, Zeballos very much included. This feels like “6-4 in the third,” but Kohlschreiber gets the edge. Take him with your tennis picks.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in three sets
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