Eastbourne International 2021: Marton Fucsovics vs Kwon Soon-woo preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: Marton Fucsovics vs Soonwoo Kwon

Date: 23 June 2021

Tournament: Viking International Eastbourne 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Eastbourne, Great Britain

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Grass

Prize money: €547,265

Match timing: Approx. 4 pm local time, 3 pm GMT, 11 am EST, 8.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Marton Fucsovics vs Kwon Soon-woo preview

Marton Fucsovics started off well in 2021, making a couple of deep runs in the first quarter of the season. He even made the final at Rotterdam in March, where he lost the title match to Andrey Rublev.

However, the 29-year-old didn't have much to show for on clay. Fucsovics failed to make it past the second round in any of the five tournaments he entered on the dirt.

Following his exit from Roland Garros in the first week itself, the Hungarian entered Stuttgart hoping for a change in fortunes. However, he suffered a first-round loss there against the in-form Ugo Humbert.

Having skipped both tournaments in Halle and London last week, Fucsovics faced Aljaz Bedene in his opening encounter at Eastbourne on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old eked out a close victory against Bedene despite breaking serve just once and getting broken twice. He won both the tiebreakers that were played in the match - in the first set and the third - to confirm his safe passage into the final 16.

Kwon Soon-woo

Kwon Soon-woo started the year ranked 95th in the world but has steadily risen up 77. And Challenger-level tournaments have contributed a fair share to the ranking points he has racked up.

Kwon won the Biella Challenger in February, beating Lorenzo Musetti in the final. The 23-year-old's best results on the main tour this season have been his quarterfinal appearances in Singapore and Marbella.

But when it comes to points, Kwon scored a 90-pointer by reaching the third round of Roland Garros (as opposed to 45 points each by making the final 8 of the former two tournaments). Unseeded in Paris, he took out Kevin Anderson and Andreas Seppi before falling to Matteo Berrettini in the Round of 32.

That showing on clay hasn't translated to much momentum on grass so far though. The South Korean lost in the second round of the Nottingham Challenger against Damir Dzumhur last week.

He entered the Eastbourne qualifiers as the top seed, but lost in the first round of qualification to local boy Alastair Gray - who is currently ranked 1041th in the world. But as a result of fifth seed Reilly Opelka pulling out, Kwon has not only got in as a lucky loser, but has also benefitted from the American's first-round bye.

Marton Fucsovics vs Kwon Soon-woo head-to-head

Marton Fucsovics and Kwon Soon-woo will meet for the first time on the tour on Wednesday. Their career head-to-head thus stands at 0-0.

Marton Fucsovics vs Kwon Soon-woo prediction

Marton Fucsovics starts out as the favorite in this second round clash. While grass isn't his strongest suit, the man on the other side of the net hasn't recorded a single win on the turf on the main tour.

Besides his relative lack of weaponry, Kwon Soon-woo will likely also have trouble defending against the Hungarian's power game on this surface.

Prediction: Marton Fucsovics to win in straight sets.