Predicted Winners in BOLD

Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs. [WC] Go Soeda (JPN) – Can he make the home crowd happy?

[1] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. [Q] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) – Cilic could make a run at the top if things break his way in 2018.  It may be unlikely, but his chances are as good as any outside of the big 4 to make a push forward.

[5] Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs. Gilles Simon (FRA) – This is a tough first round draw, but Anderson should be able to dictate play and win.

[WC] Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) vs. [Q] Franko Skugor (CRO) – This is a great opportunity for each player to grab a tour win.

Joao Sousa (POR) vs. Bernard Tomic (AUS) – I am not sure of what to make of Tomic, but Sousa is a tough opponent.

Ryan Harrison (USA) vs. [Q] Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) H2H – Harrison has a nice chance to grab some ranking points.

[7] Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) vs. Jiri Vesely (CZE) H2H – This should be a fun match.  I could see it going either way, but I will give ARV the slight edge.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs. [Q] Matthew Ebden (AUS) H2H – Big serving should lead Ivo to the next round.