Pick of the Day: Diego Schwartzman vs. Jiri Lehecka, Shanghai

Diego Schwartzman is coming off a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 win over Luca van Assche and he now takes on world No. 30 Jiri Lehecka in the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Schwartzman is nowhere near the player he was when he was his career-high ranking of No. 8 in the world, and there are almost too many players that just put him at a huge disadvantage physically these days. But I have been encouraged by the way the Argentinean has been competing recently. He took a set off Alexander Zverev in Beijing last week, which was the first time he’s won a set off a Top 10 player in a very long time.

He looks like he’s starting to find some confidence again, so I’m backing him to win a set off Lehecka.

Lehecka really hasn’t impressed me much in recent weeks. He’s just 10-7 in his last 17 matches, with a lot of those victories coming over inferior players—and a few coming in Davis Cup. But his results on the ATP Tour haven’t quite been there recently, outside of a somewhat lucky run to the final in Winston-Salem. And overall, I’m not sure he has the playing style to just blow out Schwartzman.

Lehecka can be a fantastic ball striker when he’s on his game, but things haven’t been clicking for him recently. He looked especially rough in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Hamad Medjedovic in Astana last week. So, with Lehecka not exactly being in good form right now, I think Schwartzman’s ability to defend and grind will get to him—even if it’s just for a single set. Schwartzman is going to track down a ton of balls and utilize heavy topspin to keep Lehecka from getting comfortable. And I’d be surprised if that doesn’t result in a competitive match, at the very least.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if Schwartzman ends up winning this match outright. I prefer a player that is playing meaningful matches and working hard to find their form rather than somebody that looks like he’s going through the motions.

Bet: Schwartzman +1.5 Sets (-158)