ATP Queen’s Club Day 2 Predictions Including Carlos Alcaraz vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Carlos Alcaraz won this event in 2023 and went on to take the title at Wimbledon, before losing in the second round to Jack Draper last year (but also going on to triumph at SW19). The Spaniard is arriving at Queen’s Club after prevailing in one of the best matches of all time in the final of Roland Garros and the question is if he had enough time to recover. The Spaniard is due to kick off his campaign on what should be an entertaining second day at the ATP Queen’s Club Championships with 10 matches on the slate. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Jack Draper vs Jenson Brooksby. But who will advance?
ATP Queen’s Club Day 2 Predictions
Reilly Opelka vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Head-to-head: first meeting
Camilo Ugo Carabelli is basically a stranger to grass courts with just two Wimbledon qualifying matches in 2022 and 2024. But that’s the deal with clay specialists who improve their ranking, which then gives them some space to experiment. Reilly Opelka isn’t known for loving this surface either despite his cannon serve (lower bounce doesn’t suit him due to his considerable stature), but his weaponry will be a massive factor here. He can probably get into some return games, Ugo Carabelli seems unlikely to.
Prediction: Opelka in 2
Brandon Nakashima vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Head-to-head: first meeting
Grass is a bit of a double-edged sword for Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. His all or nothing approach makes him prone to getting involved in lottery matches in any conditions, but here it’s very tough for him to avoid a tiebreak – at least until he works on his return game. For a giant, he’s pretty athletic but can’t really use that athleticism on a slick, low-bouncing court and the one-handed backhand, which isn’t the steadiest shot at the best of times, is often tough to execute. This will come down to a few points and Brandon Nakashima is probably just the more consistent player.
Gabriel Diallo vs Billy Harris
Head-to-head: Harris 1-0 Diallo
Billy Harris took down Gabriel Diallo in Newport last year, but they’ve gone in different directions since. The Briton has been struggling to get over the line when it matter and has likely missed his window to break into the top 100 (Harris is defending a quarterfinal here and semifinal in Eastbourne), while Diallo is coming off a fantastic run in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Coming over from that event and playing his best tennis here again might be tricky, but Harris probably doesn’t have the confidence to potentially produce an upset right now.
Prediction: Diallo in 3
Alex de Minaur vs Jiri Lehecka
Head-to-head: de Minaur 1-0 Lehecka
Alex de Minaur opted to skip ‘s-Hertogenbosch this time, winning the event last year but arriving at Queen’s Club clearly exhausted. His draw is still tough though as Jiri Lehecka continues to be a dangerous floater in draws with his ranking not quite matching the potential of his ability when he is at his peak. The Czech had a solid introduction to grass last week and will be a threat here, but de Minaur should probably have just enough to hold him off.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: Alcaraz 2-0 Davidovich Fokina
Carlos Alcaraz is playing for the first time since his triumph at Roland Garros in what was surely one of the best matches of all time. We know that he took some time off to relax and might not have had perfect grass preparation coming into this event (much like last year). However, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina just got married and so probably hasn’t spent as much time on the practice court as he usually would have. Under-prepared or not, Alcaraz probably survives this tricky opener.