Hangzhou picks & predictions: Marozsan vs. Nardi, Cilic vs. Svajda

First-round action in Hangzhou continues on Wednesday, when Fabian Marozsan and Marin Cilic are among those taking the court. They are set for respective encounters against Luca Nardi and Zachary Svajda.

Luca Nardi vs. (7) Fabian Marozsan

Marozsan and Nardi will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the inaugural Hangzhou Open on Wednesday. Their only previous meeting came last year at a clay-court Challenger event in Cagliari, where Marozsan prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Things should not be too much different on the main tour. Marozsan has much more experience at this level, with 32 lifetime match victories compared to Nardi’s seven. Nardi famously upset Novak Djokovic at the Miami Masters, but he has not done anything since that result. The 21-year-old Italian is 3-7 in his last 10 matches following a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Sho Shimabukuro in last week’s Guangzhou Challenger. Marozsan is coming off a decent U.S. hard-court swing and will likely be way too good for Nardi.

Pick: Marozsan in 2

(WC) Marin Cilic vs. Zachary Svajda

Cilic was out from mid-February until late August due to knee surgery–this after playing a grand total of two matches in 2023 also because of knee problems. The 35-year-old Croat is finally back in action, returning with a pair of hard-court Challenger appearances. He reached the Manacor second round (lost to Duje Ajdukovic in three sets) and the Cassis quarterfinals (lost to world No. 531 Adria Soriano Barrera in straight sets).

Up first for Cilic in Hangzhou is Svajda, who is 5-14 lifetime at the ATP level (3-7 this season). Although this is a pretty good draw for the 2014 U.S. Open champion, Svajda is actually playing well at the moment. The 21-year-old American successfully qualified in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Winston-Salem, advancing to the third round in Winston-Salem after upsetting Francisco Cerundolo. Svajda does not wield much firepower, but he keeps the ball in play. That probably isn’t the kind of opponent Cilic wants to face in the early stages of his comeback.

Pick: Svajda in 3