October 22, 2024
Cheryl Murray
Match previews
Round two at the ATP 500 in Basel kicks off on Wednesday with Andrey Rublev taking on Alejandro Tabilo. French left-hander Ugo Humbert and Belgian veteran David Goffin are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
Andrey Rublev vs Alejandro Tabilo
Top seed Andrey Rublev will look to cap off his season with a strong performance in the last few tournaments. He currently sits at No. 7 in the world but struggled during the Asian swing. Rublev earned his spot in the Basel second round with a comfortable win over Nuno Borges, but he faces a superior opponent in Alejandro Tabilo on Wednesday. The bad news for Tabilo is that his results have been a bit lackluster this autumn. The Chilean’s ranking success is largely due to a pair of tournament wins earlier this season. He is generally a good hard court player, but it hasn’t translated to success post-U.S. Open. This shouldn’t be overly complicated for Rublev. Despite some end-of-year fatigue, the Russian should have enough in the tank to snag a spot in the quarterfinals.
Cheryl pick: Rublev in 2
Ricky pick: Rublev in 2
Ugo Humbert vs. (LL) David Goffin
France’s Ugo Humbert and Belgian David Goffin have a previous meeting in 2024, a four-set win for Humbert back in January at the Australian Open. While Goffin was forced to qualify this week (and made his way into the main draw as a lucky loser), Humbert has been impressively consistent all season. He is ranked 16th in the world with a pair of titles and a run to the final in Tokyo a few weeks ago. Goffin was also forced to qualify in Shanghai, but the world No. 54 made the most of his opportunity and advanced all the way to the quarterfinals before going down to Taylor Fritz. He lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in Basel qualies and is a mediocre 16-15 on the season. Goffin posted an upset win over Matteo Arnaldi in the first round, but he is likely to have much more difficulty with Humbert.
