A marquee matchup between Corentin Moutet and Nick Kyrgios takes center stage at the Stuttgart ATP 250 on Tuesday. Following a tough loss at the French Open, Frances Tiafoe is kicking off his campaign against Daniel Altmaier.
(WC) Nick Kyrgios vs. (8) Corentin Moutet
Kyrgios will take the court for the first time since January (Brisbane) when he entertains the BOSS Open crowd on Tuesday in Stuttgart. The 31-year-old Australian has played just seven matches since the start of 2023 and comes in with no ATP ranking. When healthy, can Kyrgios still be dangerous on grass? The answer to that is potentially “yes,” but a lot things would have to go right both physically and mentally.
Up first for the former Wimbledon runner-up is a first-ever showdown against Moutet, who is also a combustible character and will be happy to engage in any theatrics that Kyrgios brings to the table. The 27-year-old Frenchman has struggled this season (6-12 record), but a ranking of No. 36 in the world is good enough for a seeded spot in Stuttgart. Kyrgios probably has little to no semblance of an all-court game at this point in time, so it’s hard to see him being competitive unless he has an absolutely unbelievable serving day.
Pick: Moutet in 2
Daniel Altmaier vs. (6) Frances Tiafoe
Both Tiafoe and Altmaier are looking to bounce back from rough French Open losses as they begin the grass-court swing. In the fourth round at Roland Garros, Tiafoe led eventual semifinalist Matteo Arnaldi two sets to one and 4-1, 40-15 in the fourth only to come out on the short end of a five-set marathon. Altmaier lost much earlier in the tournament, falling right away to Felix Auger-Aliassime in a fifth-set tiebreaker — and then watching the Canadian eventually book a spot in the quarterfinals.
Although Altmaier has enjoyed much more recovery time than his opponent, the surface change will make it difficult for the German. His game is most effective on clay — by a mile — and he is barely more than hopeless on grass (9-17 lifetime record). Not only is Tiafoe a solid grass-court player, but he is also sweeping Altmaier 3-0 in their head-to-head series. Unless the 26th-ranked American can’t bounce back from what happened in Paris, this should be one-way traffic in his favor.
Pick: Tiafoe in 2