Auckland 2024 Day 3: Men's singles predictions ft. Cameron Norrie vs Luca Van Assche

The third day of action at the 2024 Auckland Open on Wednesday features eight second-round matches. Seven seeds and three qualifiers will be in action at the ATP 250 event in New Zealand.

On Tuesday, the likes of Roberto Carballes Baena, Sebastian Ofner and Max Purcell emerged victorious, respectively beating Roberto Bautista Agut, wildcard Denis Shapovalov, and wildcard Kiranpal Pannu.

So, without further ado, here's a look at how the following four second-round matches in Auckland could pan out:

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#1 Cameron Norrie (Auckland second seed) vs Luca Van Assche

Luca Van Assche

Second seed Cameron Norrie opens his Auckland campaign against French qualifier Luca Van Assche.

World No. 19 Norrie is 1-1 on the season, winning one of his two matches at the United Cup mixed team event in Perth. Meanwhile, the 87th-ranked Van Assche is 1-2 in 2024, beating J.J. Wolf in the first round.

This is the pair's first tour-level meeting, but expect the higher-ranked Norrie to take the win.

Pick: Norrie in straight sets.

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#2 Francisco Cerundolo vs Alexandre Muller

Francisco Cerundolo

Third seed Francisco Cerundolo opens his Auckland campaign against French qualifier Alexandre Muller.

The 22nd-ranked Cerundolo lost his season-opener in Hong Kong last week to Roberto Bautista Agut. Meanwhile, World No. 79 Muller is 1-0 on the season after beating Benjamin Bonzi in the first round.

This is another first-time meeting, but the Argentinian should prevail against his qualifier opponent.

Pick: Cerundolo in straight sets.

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#3 Max Purcell vs Taro Daniel

Max Purcell

Eighth seed Max Purcell continues his campaign in the ASB Classic in Auckland against Japanese-American Taro Daniel.

Coming off a loss in his Brisbane opener against Holger Rune last week, World No. 45 Purcell got off the mark for the season by beating Kiranpal Pannu in the first round this week. Meanwhile, the 74th-ranked Daniel lost his season-opener in Hong Kong but beat Aleksandar Vukic in the first round.

This is yet another first-time clash, but expect the higher-ranked Purcell to progress to the quarter-final.

Pick: Purcell in three sets.

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#4 Sebastian Ofner vs Roberto Carballes Baena

Sebastian Ofner

Seventh seed Sebastian Ofner takes on Roberto Carballes Baena for a place in the quarter-finals.

World No. 37 Ofner got his campaign at the ATP 250 tournament up and running by beating Denis Shapovalov to improve to 4-1 for the season. Meanwhile, the 67th-ranked Carballes Baena beat Roberto Bautista Agut in his season opener.

It's another first-time meeting, but expect the in-form Ofner to continue his momentum and take the win.

Pick: Ofner in straight sets.