An intriguing contest between Grigor Dimitrov and Tomas Machac headlines second-round competition in Vienna on Thursday. Jakub Mensik and Miomir Kecmanovic are also bidding for a place in the quarterfinals.
(3) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Tomas Machac
It has been a breakthrough 2024 campaign for Machac, who has won 32 matches on the main tour this season–exactly double the amount he had for his entire career at the end of 2023. The 24-year-old, who upset Carlos Alcaraz en route to the Shanghai semifinals and beat Novak Djokovic on his way to the Geneva title, has climbed to No. 27 in the world. Machac’s fine form continued with a 7-6(5), 6-1 defeat of Fabian Marozsan in round one of the Erste Bank Open.
Up next for the Czech on Thursday is a fist-ever meeting with Dimitrov. Whereas Machac is looking to secure a seed for the 2025 Australian Open, Dimitrov is trying to clinch a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals. The 33-year-old Bulgarian improved to an awesome 44-16 for the season by beating Zhizhen Zhang 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday. He is 11-2 in his last 13 completed matches (not including one retirement) dating back to the U.S. Open. As well as Machac is playing, Dimitrov is the much more consistent performer and his motivation level has to be high.
Pick: Dimitrov in 2
(Q) Jakub Mensik vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
Mensik and Kecmanovic will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. Undoubtedly on course for Nitto ATP Finals appearances in the future, Mensik will be wrapping up his 2024 campaign at the NextGen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 19-year-old is fourth in that race, trailing only Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen, and Jerry Shang. Mensik has earned 24 of his 27 lifetime ATP-level match wins this season and is coming off a quarterfinal run at the Shanghai Masters. He has remained red hot with successful qualification in Vienna followed by a straight-set victory over Alexei Popyrin.
Kecmanovic is seven spots behind Mensik at 58th in the rankings. The 25-year-old Serb underwhelmed on the Asian swing, but his indoor circuit includes a Stockholm quarterfinal appearance last week and a Vienna first-round win over Mariano Navone. Kecmanovic has never been great indoors, though, and an on-fire Mensik wields far more offensive firepower. This one should be relatively straightforward for the teenager.
Pick: Mensik in 2
