The Geneva Open tennis tournament continues with preliminary-round play in Switzerland and so do our tennis picks. On Monday, we saw our first wave of results that brought some mixed outcomes. Sam Querrey, who was one of the higher seeds in this tournament, actually flopped right off the bat. He lost in straight sets to Guillermo Garcia. If you read our preview of the tournament, we mentioned to be wary of Querrey, who tends to do better on the hard surfaces. From the rest of the card, we saw Federico Delbonis move past Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets, we saw Inigo Cervantes top Andreas Beck in straight sets, we saw Pablo Carreno beat Christian Garin in straight sets and Lukas Rosol win in straight sets as well. As a matter of fact, every match on Monday ended in straight sets as none were really that close.
On Tuesday, players will be trying to develop some momentum and get match play before the French Open next week. Players who can at least play into Thursday will feel relatively good about their week. They don’t want to bow out early – it will feel like a wasted week with a loss on Tuesday. Here’s a look at our tennis picks for the day.
Mikhail Kukushkin vs. Thomaz Bellucci
Kukushkin and Bellucci both share the distinction of having won sets off Novak Djokovic this season, Kukushkin in the Davis Cup two months ago and Bellucci at the Rome Masters last week. Both players are talented and have at times threatened some of the best players in the world at major tournaments and other visible events on the tour. However, the difference here is that Bellucci’s form is a little more ascendant. He played well in Rome last week to not only take a set off Djokovic, but to defeat Gael Monfils, who was seen by many as a threat at the French Open and a player on the rise. Bellucci cooled him off in straight sets, which was very impressive. Bellucci is more the in-form player, and that’s what should ultimately lead bettors to take him in what should be a very close match. Take Bellucci with your tennis picks.
Pick: Bellucci in three sets
Stan Wawrinka vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas
This is a matchup of players who can crush their backhands, but Wawrinka obviously has the better version of this shot. Wawrinka should be the better player. He should win this match. However, he’s had a very forgettable season thus far and has not been able to find the consistency which has been elusive for him. Wawrinka is the defending French Open champion, yet he’s not playing like anything close to one. Ramos defeated Roger Federer in Shanghai last fall. He can certainly step up and win this match. However, this is Switzerland, where Wawrinka will be playing in front of a home crowd. It is hard to imagine Wawrinka bombing out of Geneva this early. He might not win the whole tournament, but he will be motivated to win an early-round match so that he can get more practice for Roland Garros. It is reasonable to have concerns about Wawrinka, but he should ultimately be able to win this, so take him with your tennis picks.
Pick: Wawrinka in three sets
Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Inigo Cervantes
This is a match which features a couple of Spanish clay-courters who won’t do much of anything on grass or hardcourts. They are trying to finish the spring clay season strong and build a bridge to the summer clay season which continues in Europe for a few weeks after Wimbledon. Carreno Busta has collected a few wins of note on the European circuit over the past month. He defeated Gilles Simon, a top-25 player, to reach the semifinals of the Estoril Open. Cervantes has no such win to match that feat by Carreno Busta. It’s not as though Carreno Busta is a lock by any stretch, but he certainly merits a lot more confidence than his opponent. Take him with your tennis picks.
Pick: Carreno Busta in straight sets
