The 2022 ATP Stockholm Open enters the latter part of the week with eight players ready to battle it out for the final four quarterfinal spots. Day four in Sweden’s capital features four second-round matches and, as always, we here at LWOT are previewing and predicting every match. But who will advance?
ATP Stockholm Day 4 Predictions
Tommy Paul vs Mikael Ymer
Head-to-head: Paul 3-0 Ymer
Eighth seed Tommy Paul is back in Stockholm looking to win this event in back-to-back years after taking home his maiden tour title at the 2021 Stockholm Open. That title 12 months ago has propelled Paul to his best season on tour. The 25-year-old American has crept his way into the World’s top 30 with a 36-24 record on the year. He holds a 3-0 record against his round two opponent, Mikael Ymer, though all three matches were hard-fought battles.
Ymer, a Swedish native, favors the indoor hard courts as his favorite surface. He is 13-7 on the surface this season having reeled off five wins in Metz last week. Both Paul and Ymer came from a set down against lower-ranked opponents to win their round one matches. Expect long points with both players hesitant to move off of the baseline. Give the edge to the American who should have some extra juice as he looks to defend his title.
Prediction: Paul in 2
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Frances Tiafoe vs Elias Ymer
Head-to-head: Tiafoe 1-0 Ymer
After receiving a first-round bye, third seed Frances Tiafoe is set to begin his 2022 Stockholm Open campaign against Elias Ymer. The 24-year-old American currently holds a career-high ranking of world #17 and has gone an impressive 10-3 over the past two months, establishing himself as one of the best hard-court players in the world on current at least. Ymer had a nice first-round win over German’s Oscar Otte in three sets. The 26-year-old Swed has proven to be a solid indoor hard-court player, especially on home soil. With that said, Tiafoe bested Ymer in straight sets at this event last year. Expect that result to be repeated here at a tournament he has a great chance of winning.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 2
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Emil Ruusuvuori vs Jiri Lehecka
Head-to-head: Ruusuvuori 1-0 Lehecka
Emil Ruusuvuori is looking to close out what has been the best season of his young career at the tour level. The 23-year-old holds a 38-29 record in 2022 as he attempts to reach his fifth quarterfinal of the year. In his way is 20-year-old Jiri Lehecka. Like most players his age, Lehecka has had an up-and-down 2022 season. In round one, he fought back after a horrid second set to take down #6 seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 1-6 7-6. This should do wonders for the young Czech’s confidence. Ruusuvuori got the better of Lehecka 6-4 6-4 less than a month ago in Metz and, thanks to Finn’s consistency from the baseline, a similar result looks to be on the cards in their battle in Stockholm.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 2
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Alex de Minaur vs J.J. Wolf
Head-to-head: first meeting
Fifth seed Alex de Minaur faces a very tough round two matchup against young American J.J. Wolf. De Minaur holds a 6-1 indoor hard court record this season and is nearly impossible to hit through on the European style of slow indoor hard courts. With that said, this will not stop Wolf from trying to overpower the Aussie. The 23-year-old American loves nothing more than to hit blistering groundstrokes all match long. Wolf is coming off of a run to his maiden tour-level final in Florence.
He has seemingly carried that momentum into Stockholm, ousting Alex Molcan 7-5 6-4 in the first round. The American certainly possesses the tools to beat de Minaur, it is just a matter of how consistent he can be. De Minaur will make Wolf hit two, three, and sometimes even four extra balls to put away a point. Because of this, give a slight edge to the Aussie in what I expect to be a very fun second-round match.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
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