Third seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry opens his Hangzhou campaign against Kyrian Jacquet, who is riding a confidence boost.
Jacquet beat Aleksandar Vukic 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday for his third tour-level win of the season. The result lifted the 25-year-old Frenchman to No. 99 in the live rankings, close to his career high of No. 102, and he already has a feel for the courts.
Etcheverry had a first round bye. The Argentine is tall, hits a heavy forehand and serves well, and while clay is often seen as his strongest surface, his game translates to medium paced hard courts because of the weight of his groundstrokes.
Jacquet is quick, competes hard and returns well, and he will look to absorb Etcheverry's power and redirect it. The question is whether he can hold serve consistently enough against the Argentine's return, since his second serve can be attacked.
The first set could be tight as Etcheverry finds his range after the bye, but his heavier ball and bigger serve should tell over three sets.
**Prediction: Etcheverry in three sets. Confidence: medium.**