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The third day of main draw action at the 2023 Open Sud de France in Montpellier will see five seeded players take to the court.
The second day of the tournament saw the likes of Filip Krajinovic, Maxime Cressy, and Marton Fucsovics book their places in the Round of 16. While Cressy got past Antoine Bellier in straight sets, Krajinovic and Fucsovics had to go the distance to see off Aslan Karatsev and Geoffrey Blancaneaux, respectively.
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The third day in Montpellier will feature three first-round and two second-round singles matches. Here's a look at the predictions for each match:
#1 Round of 32: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Ugo Humbert
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will open his Montpellier campaign against wildcard and home hope Ugo Humbert in the first match on Court Patrice Dominguez.
The fifth-seeded Davidovich Fokina, ranked 32nd in the world, opened his 2023 campaign with a quarterfinal run at the Adelaide International 2. The 23-year-old followed that up with a second-round appearance at the Australian Open, where he squandered a two-sets-to-one lead against eventual semifinalist Tommy Paul of the USA.
Meanwhile, the 85th-ranked Humbert has fared slightly better than Davidovich Fokina this year, winning four of his six matches. He made a third-round appearance at the Australian Open before winning both his Davis Cup matches for France against Hungary.
Davidovich Fokina won the pair's only previous meeting in the 2021 Estoril quarterfinals. However, expect Humbert to ride his momentum and draw level in their head-to-head, albeit after a tight contest.
Prediction: Humbert in three sets.
#2 Round of 32: Gregoire Barrere vs Alexander Bublik
Sixth seed Alexander Bublik will look to get his Open Sud de France campaign up and running against Frenchman Gregoire Barrere.
Bublik, ranked 50th in the world, has had a wretched start to his 2023 campaign, losing all six of his matches this year. The defending champion in Montpellier suffered back-to-back losses in the Davis Cup against Chile. Meanwhile, Barrere, the World No. 75, has won eight out of his 12 matches in 2023. He's coming off a final loss at the Quimper Challenger.
Bublik and Barrere both have one win in their two previous meetings. The Frenchman, however, will fancy his chances of taking the lead in his head-to-head with Bublik.
Prediction: Barrere in three sets.
Round of 16: Marton Fucsovics vs (x2) Jannik Sinner
Second seed Jannik Sinner will open his Montpellier campaign against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics after a first-round bye.
The 17th-ranked Italian has enjoyed a good start to the year, reaching the Adelaide International 1 quarterfinals and the Australian Open fourth round. Meanwhile, Fucsovics made it to the Australian Open third round and commenced his Montpellier campaign with a win against Geoffrey Blancaneaux.
In his two previous appearances at the Montpellier Open (2020 and 2021), Sinner was eliminated in the first round. Fucsovics, meanwhile, opened his account at the tournament on Tuesday. The pair's head-to-head record is tied at 2-2, after Sinner defeated Fucsovics from two sets down at the Australian Open last month. Expect the Italian to see off his Hungarian opponent in an easier outing this time.
Prediction: Sinner in straight sets
#4 Round of 16: Arthur Fils vs Roberto Bautista Agut (Former Montpellier finalist)
Fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut will commence will Open Sud de France campaign against wildcard Arthur Fils.
The 24th-ranked Spaniard has made a solid start to the year, going 7-3, including a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open and a final run at the Adelaide International 2. Fils, meanwhile, will be buzzing with confidence after notching up his first ATP Tour win, beating three-time winner Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Monday.
Bautista Agut and Fils have never met before. Nevertheless, expect the 2021 runner-up to end the dream run of the 163rd-ranked French teenager and reach his third Montpellier quarterfinal in as many appearances.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in straight sets.
#5 Round of 32: Mikael Ymer vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Seventh seed Emil Ruusuvuori will look to open his Montpellier campaign with a win when he takes on Sweden's Mikael Ymer for a place in the second round.
The 53rd-ranked Ruusuvuori is off to a decent start to the 2023 season, having made the second round at the Australian Open and winning both his Davis Cup matches against Argentina.
Meanwhile, Ymer, ranked 73rd in the world, has won eight of his last nine matches (including qualifiers) across the ATP and Challenger Tour. Like Ruusuvuori, the Swede is also coming off twin wins in the Davis Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ymer and Ruusuvuori are tied in their four previous meetings on the tour. Ymer has won the last two, with one of those wins coming at the Adelaide International 2 last month. Expect Ymer to ride his recent purple patch and dump out the seventh seed.
Prediction: Ymer in three sets.
