Citi Open 2023 Day 3: Men's Singles Predictions ft. Taylor Fritz vs Zachary Svajda

The third day of action at the 2023 Citi Open on Wednesday (August 2) will feature ten second-round matches. Ten seeds, one qualifier, one wildcard, and one lucky loser will be in action at the ATP 500 event.

On Tuesday, the likes of Juncheng Shang, Grigor Dimitrov, and Frances Tiafoe emerged victorious, respectively beating Ben Shelton, Mackenzie McDonald, and Aslan Karatsev.

Without further ado, here's a look at how the following four second-round matches at the Citi Open could pan out:

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#1 Taylor Fritz (Citi Open top seed) vs Zachary Svajda

Zachary Svajda

Top seed Taylor Fritz opens his Citi Open campaign against qualifier Zachary Svajda in an all-American second-round matchup.

World No. 9 Fritz is coming off his second title of the year at the Atalanta Open last week. He has a 38-16 win-loss record this season but has a 2-3 record in DC. Meanwhile, the 233rd-ranked Svajda, who is set to make his DC debut, is 1-1 in 2023 after seeing off Max Purcell in his opener.

The two Americans haven't clashed before, but expect Fritz to take a straightforward win.

Pick: Fritz to win in straight sets

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#2 Ugo Humbert vs Thanasi Kokkinakis

Ugo Humbert

Thirteenth seed Ugo Humbert continues his Citi Open campaign with a second-round clash against unseeded Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The 36th-ranked Humbert is 14-15 on the season, coming off a semifinal run in Atlanta, as he makes his DC debut. Meanwhile, World No. 86 Kokkinakis saw off Taro Daniel in three sets to improve to 13-10 in 2023. He's also making his DC debut this week.

The two players haven't locked horns before, but expect Humbert to prevail in a close clash.

Pick: Humbert to win in three sets

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#3 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Yosuke Watanuki

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime opens his Citi Open campaign against unseeded Japanese Yosuke Watanuki.

World No. 12 Auger-Aliassime is 13-11 on the season, coming off a shock first-round loss at Wimbledon last month. He has a 2-2 record in DC. Meanwhile, the 99th-ranked Watanuki prevailed over a retiring Yibing Wu in his opener to improve to 6-6 in 2023 and 1-2 in DC.

This is another first-time meeting, but the more experienced Auger-Aliassime should take the win.

Pick: Auger-Aliassime to win in straight sets

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#4 J.J. Wolf vs Radu Albot

J.J. Wolf reached the quarterfinals last year.

Sixteenth seed J.J. Wolf takes on the unseeded Moldovan Radu Albot in his Citi Open opener.

Coming off a semifinal run in Atlanta last week, World No. 45 Wolf is 20-16 on the season and has a 3-1 record in DC. Meanwhile, the 97th-ranked Albot - making his DC debut - beat Marcos Giron in his opener to improve to 7-9 in 2023.

Wolf took the pair's lone meeting in Dallas this year and should win again.

Pick: Wolf to win in three sets