- Kyle Edmund v Marco Cecchinato [Q] | H2H: Edmund leads 1-0
- Hubert Hurkacz def. Dan Evans 6-3 3-6 7-5
ROME, ITALY – Kyle Edmund takes over the Brit baton on a surface he feels comfortable on while Dan Evans still searches for an elusive main draw win in Rome.
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Kyle Edmund v Marco Cecchinato [Q] | H2H: Edmund leads 1-0
British No. 2 Kyle Edmund is the last one standing in the men’s singles after Cameron Norrie went out in qualifying, followed by British No. 1 Dan Evans.
Edmund is actually very comfortable on clay and has a stronger W-L record on the clay than he does on any other surface, and the fact that he actually beat Marco Cecchinato on clay in Nice stands him in good stead.
He has at least made it to the round of 16 in Rome a couple of years ago, and we can expect some heavy hitting between the pair. The Italian has an aggressive hitting style and will look to try and take the ball early, together with an effective single-handed backhand.
Edmund has a strong serve and forehand combination that, when it is firing, can deliver an effective one-two punch and the work he put in over the lockdown period saw him looking a lot stronger, with more stamina.
With only one win behind him since the tour restarted, he will need to get off to a quick start and might actually feel a little lucky that there is no crowd to try and lift Cecchinato.
Prediction: Edmund in three sets.
Hubert Hurkacz def. Dan Evans 6-3 3-6 7-5
It definitely took Evans time to quite literally find his feet in a bit of a slug-fest with Hubert Hurkacz and at times in the first set it looked more like he was sliding on ice, but after Hurkacz looked to have over-extended himself causing a little hindrance to his mobility, Evans looked a lot more assured and took the second set.
After treatment though, Hurkacz looked to be getting a bit more movement back, and in a tight decider the pair exchanged braces of breaks before Hurkacz struck at the end to break for the match.
Edmund & Cecchinato are scheduled on Court Pietrangeli, not before 7pm (6pm BST).
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