(1) Ugo Humbert vs. Dominik Koepfer
Humbert was on fire earlier this season and even remained hot at the start of the clay-court swing with a quarterfinal performance in Monte-Carlo, but this is without question his worst surface. Heading into the Open Parc as the top seed, Humbert is coming off an opening loss in Barcelona to Dusan Lajovic and a third-round exit from Madrid at the hands of Jan-Lennard Struff. Even though the 17th-ranked Frenchman does not project to be a serious contender at Roland Garros, he still might be inclined to make his way to Paris with time to spare instead of putting in a lot of energy at this Lyon ATP 250.
A tough second-round matchup with Koepfer on Wednesday could very well send Humbert on his way to the year’s second Grand Slam. They have faced each other four times (none on clay) and Koepfer leads the head-to-head series 3-1 (1-0 at the ATP level). Their most recent encounter at the Miami Open a couple of months ago went Koepfer’s way via a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision. The 67th-ranked German is in great form this season, has enjoyed plenty of success on clay, and has a match under his belt already this week after getting past Javier Barranco Cosano 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4. This is a good opportunity for Koepfer to pull off what would only be an upset on paper.
Pick: Koepfer in 3
Thiago Seyboth Wild vs. (6) Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Etcheverry and Seyboth Wild will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the fifth time on clay. Just like Koepfer against Humbert, Etcheverry is 3-1 overall and 1-0 on the main tour after beating Seyboth Wild 6-3, 7-5 just a couple of weeks ago in Rome.
There is no real reason to think anything will be different this week. It is worth noting that Etcheverry has quarterfinal points to defend coming up at Roland Garros, but his motivation level this week should still be high. After all, the 29th-ranked Argentine has never won an ATP title and he is arguably the favorite to lift the trophy. It’s a chance he will not want to pass up. Wild has a losing record for the year (12-13) on the main tour, so Etcheverry should once again have the edge over the 58th-ranked Brazilian.
Pick: Etcheverry in 2
