Wet weather has forced a number of matches to be postponed until Thursday and it is vital for all of the tournaments being played that they get back on track.
Some of those events are starting earlier than usual in a bid to avoid having players forced to play twice in the same day to ensure we have a Sunday finish. The weather looks very good at all of the events going into the weekend, but Thursday could be another challenging day for players who have to wait around and hope there are enough windows of play to get their matches completed.
Andy Murray - 1.5 games v Alexander Bublik: After deciding to skip the majority of the clay court season, Andy Murray is back on the grass courts where he was once as good as anybody on the Tour. At this stage of his career, Andy Murray is no longer one of the favourites to win Wimbledon, but he does feel he can still have a big impact on a surface that is largely unfamiliar to many on the Tour.
With that in mind, Andy Murray has chosen to play as many tournaments as he can on the grass and that included taking part in a Challenger event in Surbiton last week. He reached the Semi Final there before a close defeat to Denis Kudla, but it also served as a reminder that Murray is not the force he once was on the Tour in general.
Needing as much court time as he can find, Andy Murray has decided to head out of Britain for a grass court appearance and reached the Second Round in Stuttgart behind a strong win. He will be the first to admit that the level of opponent moves up significantly in this Round, but Andy Murray will be familiar with what Alexander Bublik can bring to the table having played him twice already in 2022.
Those two previous matches have been split with one win apiece, but this match is being played on a grass court on which Andy Murray may feel he has a real edge.
However, Alexander Bublik has a game that can be dangerous on the grass courts and he was a very comfortable winner over the aforementioned Denis Kudla in the First Round thanks to the serve. He won 76% of points played behind serve and that built up the scoreboard pressure that eventually saw Bublik crack through and win in straight sets.
Alexander Bublik enjoyed a couple of solid grass court runs in 2021 too having held 88% of the service games played in the eleven matches played on the surface and I do think he will go as far as his serve can take him. It helps build scoreboard pressure and makes up for what has been a pretty limited return game.
There is enough from the return to give Andy Murray one or two things to think about, especially as the former Wimbledon Champion admitted he would like to serve better after his First Round win over Christoper O'Connell. In saying that, Andy Murray has been able to hold 90% of his service games in the two matches against Alexander Bublik in 2022 and will feel he can generate enough returns in play to showcase his superior grass court nous.
It certainly won't be an easy match for either player with the serve likely to be crucial to their chances, but I do think Andy Murray can win the big points this time thanks to his previous grass court appearances. Another first set tie-breaker would not be a surprise, but Andy Murray can nose in front and go on and win this Second Round match as he continues his build towards Wimbledon.
Hubert Hurkacz-Marton Fucsovics over 22.5 games: There had been very little suggestion that Hubert Hurkacz was going to be a genuine title contender going into Wimbledon 2021.
He had limited success on the grass courts through his career to that point and Hubert Hurkacz had been beaten in his opening match in Stuttgart and Halle, but he caught fire when he set foot in SW19. A run to the Semi Final is one thing, but Hubert Hurkacz enjoyed victories over the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer before losing in four sets in the Semi Final against Matteo Berrettini and the World Number 13 will be feeling much more confident playing on the grass courts in 2022 than he would have been going into 2021.
In saying that, I do think Hubert Hurkacz has to win the fine margins if he is going to have successes on the surface. We know the serve is a potent weapon for Hurkacz on the faster surfaces and he has shown improvements behind that shot in 2018, 2019 and 2021, while he has always held a huge amount of service games on the grass courts.
However, Hubert Hurkacz has struggled on the return and managed to break in 17% of return games played on the grass in 2021, which is an improvement on previous years. That isn't a number that will intimidate too many and you have to feel that Hurkacz will be under pressure to play perfect tie-breakers if he is going to replicate the success of Wimbledon 2021.
I do think Hurkacz could have a bit more of an opportunity against Marton Fucsovics, even though the former Boys' Singles Winner at Junior Wimbledon is comfortable on the grass courts.
The Hungarian is now 30 years old and he has struggled for consistency on the grass courts with a serve that can be vulnerable when offering up too many second serves to attack. While the return of serve is pretty effective on the grass courts, Marton Fucsovics has held only 79% of his service games on a surface which should favour the server and that is a concern when the scoreboard pressure is ramped up in this kind of match.
Marton Fucsovics did reach the Quarter Final at Wimbledon last year and he was a strong First Round winner in Stuttgart so he should not be lacking for confidence. The serve worked well in the First Round and that will be encouraging as Marton Fucsovics takes on an opponent he has beaten in their two previous matches, although those were played in 2018 and Fucsovics and Hubert Hurkacz may have crossed one another in terms of ability since then.
Both players should feel they can serve well enough to push the other and I would not be surprised to see this match needing at least one tie-breaker to begin to separate them. The limited returning of Hubert Hurkacz could mean this is a match that is dominated by each server and I think they can combine to surpass this total games line set.
Stefanos Tsitsipas-Dominic Stricker over 22.5 games: A disappointing French Open is behind Stefanos Tsitsipas and there is little time to regret the relatively early defeat in the second Grand Slam of the season. Despite being in the weaker half of the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas seemed to struggle with the pressure and he has dropped into World Number 5 after the tournament was concluded.
Now he has to go into the grass court season with the short build towards the third Grand Slam of the season at Wimbledon and this has not been a very enjoyable time of the year for the Greek player.
The 2019 season on the grass has been the exception to the rule, but Stefanos Tsitsipas has largely had average numbers and results on the surface and his First Round defeat at Wimbledon last year was concerning. He may have been undercooked for the grass court Slam after finishing Runner Up at Roland Garros and not taking in any warm up events before Wimbledon began, but this year is looking to be different.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will get his Stuttgart campaign going in the Second Round having received a Bye in the First Round as the top Seed in the draw, while he is expected to play in Halle next week.
His serve is effective on the grass courts and I do think that will give him a chance to put wins on the board, but the big challenge for Stefanos Tsitsipas is improving the return. It is a part of his game that has shown some improvement on the hard courts, but Dominic Stricker can put Tsitsipas under pressure with his own serve that helped him through a difficult First Round match.
Dominic Stricker has served pretty well in his limited grass court matches and upset Hubert Hurkacz here in Stuttgart twelve months ago. He is facing an opponent in Stefanos Tsitsipas who has broken in just 14% of return games in his career grass court matches and who will have some adjustments to make in his first grass court match in 2022.
The return game has been an issue for Dominic Stricker on this surface too and I do think this could be a relatively tight couple of sets played with the serve expected to be on top. If the match was played later in the grass court season, Stefanos Tsitsipas may be expected to really get on top of the return, but this may take some time to adjust on Thursday in the Second Round in Stuttgart and we may need a tie-breaker, or even two, to separate the two on the day.
The total game line isn't short, but it looks in a good place for these players to combine and surpass with the serves expected to be on top and I will look for that to be the outcome of this Second Round match.
MY PICKS: Andy Murray - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Hubert Hurkacz-Marton Fucsovics Over 22.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Stefanos Tsitsipas-Dominic Stricker Over 22.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)
Maria Sakkari - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Beatriz Haddad Maia - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Alison Riske - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Elena Rybakina - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Veronika Kudermetova - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Alex De Minaur - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Ilya Ivashka - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 6-5, + 0.78 Units (22 Units Staked, + 3.55% Yield)
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