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The 2023 Zhuhai Championships kicked off on Wednesday and so far all the big names have made it through. Former World No. 1 Andy Murray, the seventh seed here, commenced his campaign with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Ye Cong Mo.
Yoshihito Nishioka, Mackenzie McDonald and Tomas Martin Etcheverry were among the other seeded players to book their spots in the second round. The top four seeds received a first-round bye and will now be in action over the next couple of days.
Here's a look at the predictions for the singles matches scheduled for day 3 of the Zhuhai Championships:
#1 - Karen Khachanov vs Alex Bolt
Top seed Khachanov tasted a fair amount of success this year. He made the semifinals of the Australian Open and the Miami Open and the last eight at the French Open and the Madrid Open. However, the Russian's campaign got derailed following an injury in Paris.
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Khachanov returned to the tour at the US Open, but crashed out in the first round itself. Bolt made it through the qualifiers of the Zhuhai Championships and led by a set against Diego Schwartzman, who eventually retired from their first round contest due to an illness.
It marked Bolt's first main draw win of the season. Khachanov couldn't have asked for a better opponent to start his challenge here. Given his opponent hasn't performed too well on the ATP tour, the Russian will fancy his chances of winning, despite him lacking in match play as well.
Predicted winner: Karen Khachanov
#2 - Jan-Lennard Struff vs Cristian Garin
Struff was in the midst of a what was shaping to be a career-best season for him. He reached the final of the Madrid Open as a lucky loser and put up a fight against Carlos Alcaraz for the title, but came up short. He also finished as the runner-up in Stuttgart.
Struff then sustained an injury at the Halle Open and was sidelined until now. Garin needed three sets to get past Zhou Yi in the first round of the Zhuhai Championships. He's had an average season so far, with a couple of quarterfinal showings at ATP 250 events being his best results.
Garin won his previous and only encounter against Struff at the 2019 Davis Cup. Given the German will be playing his first match in three months, he'll be the underdog in this match-up.
Predicted winner: Cristian Garin
#3 - Mackenzie McDonald vs Kimmer Coppejans
McDonald fought past Shang Juncheng in three sets to make a winning debut at the Zhuhai Championships. Coppejans, on the other hand, scored a straight sets win over Aleksander Kovacevic.
Coppejans has never beaten a player ranked in the top 50 prior to this. However, McDonald has lost to players outside the top 100 on six occasions this year. So if the American isn't at his best, he could suffer another disappointing loss.
This will be the first meeting between the duo. Given that Coppejans mainly competes on the Challenger tour, McDonald will be expected to make it through this encounter.
Predicted winner: Mackenzie McDonald
#4 - Yoshihito Nishioka vs Lloyd Harris
Nishoka overcame a dismal start to score a 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Terence Atmane in the first round here. Meanwhile, Harris notched up a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 over Jiri Vesely.
After a lenghty injury lay-off, Harris made his comeback towards the end of the clay season, which he ended without winning a match. His semifinal finish at the Mallorca Championships was memorable, but he has managed to win just three matches since then.
After reaching the fourth round of the French Open, Nishioka failed to get across the opening hurdle of his next four tournaments. He snapped his losing streak in Cincinnati, but lost in the first round of the US Open after that.
Aside from a few tournaments, Nishioka has often made early exits. Harris is still trying to find his footing since his return and against an inconsistent opponent, he could have a shot at victory.
Especially considering the fact that Harris has won both of their prior encounters. Nishioka has had a slightly better season, so he'll be backed to win, but this contest could swing either way.
Predicted winner: Yoshihito Nishioka
