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The fourth day of main draw action at the 2023 Open 13 Provence in Marseille on Thursday (February 23) will feature five second-round matches. Five seeds, two qualifiers and a wildcard will be in action.
On Wednesday, the likes of Alexander Bublik, Benjamin Bonzi, and Arthur Fils emerged victorious, beating Gregoire Barrere, Maxime Cressy, and Roman Safiullin, respectively.
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Without further ado, here's a look at how the five second-round matches in Marseille on Thursday could pan out:
#1 Mikael Ymer vs David Goffin
Mikael Ymer will take on sixth seed David Goffin for a place in the last eight in Marseille.
The 69th-ranked Ymer is 5-5 on the season after beating Radu Albot in the first round. Meanwhile, World No. 41 Goffin improved to 4-5 in 2023 by overcoming Lukas Klein in his opener.
The two players haven't met before, but the Belgian should take this one.
Prediction: Goffin in straight sets.
#2 Hubert Hurkacz (Marseille top seed) vs Leandro Riedi
Top seed Hubert Hurkacz will open his Marseille campaign against the 133rd-ranked Leandro Riedi.
World No. 11 Hurkacz is 6-4 in the ongoing season, while Riedi beat Arthur Rinderknech in the first round for his first ATP tour win. Nevertheless, the Pole should take this first-time matchup.
Prediction: Hurkacz in straight sets.
#3 Grigor Dimitrov vs Gijs Brouwer
Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov will open his bid for the Marseille title against World No. 116 Gijs Brouwer.
The 25th-ranked Dimitrov is 6-3 for the season, while Brouwer beat Elias Ymer in the first round to improve to 3-1 in 2023 after starting his campaign in the qualifiers.
Dimitrov should take this first-time matchup and reach the last eight.
Prediction: Dimitrov in straight sets.
#4 Arthur Fils vs Jannik Sinner
Wildcard Arthur Fils will continue his campaign at the Open 13 Provence against second seed Jannik Sinner.
The 118th-ranked Fils improved to 4-1 on the season after beating Roman Safiullin in his opener. Meanwhile, World No. 12 Sinner is 12-3 in 2023, having made the Rotterdam final last week and winning the Montpellier title the week before.
Sinner took the pair's lone meeting in the Montpellier semifinals two weeks ago and should repeat the result again.
Prediction: Sinner in straight sets.
#5 Alexander Ritschard vs Alex de Minaur
Qualifier Alexander Ritschard will lock horns with third seed Alex de Minaur for a place in the Open 13 Provence last eight.
The 187th-ranked Ritchard opened his account for the season by beating Pablo Andujar in the first round. Meanwhile, World No. 23 De Minaur is 6-3 in 2023, having reached the Rotterdam quarterfinals last week.
The Australian should take this first-time matchup.
Prediction: De Minaur in straight sets.
