Hubert Hurkacz vs Marcos Giron - Japan Open Tokyo Tennis Prediction and Pick 9/25/24

Hubert Hurkacz knows this is a crucial stretch for him in his quest to finish the season with a Top 10 year-end ranking and potentially qualify for the ATP Finals. The Pole doesn't defend any points at the Japan Open in Tokyo after last year's shock first-round defeat to Zhizhen Zhang.

However, Hurkacz has a title defense coming up in Shanghai where he will drop 1000 points when the tournament begins next month. So it's important he finds his form this week in Tokyo. He has won five of his last eight matches on hard courts. It's a run that includes back-to-back quarterfinals in Montreal and Cincinnati, but exited the US Open much earlier than he anticipated after losing to Jordan Thompson in the second round.

His first-round opponent at the 2024 Japan Open is Marcos Giron, ranked 47th in the ATP rankings. Giron is a seasoned campaigner who celebrated his 31st birthday two months ago.

The American has won 20 of 42 matches this season at all levels. Giron has lost his last four matches in a row at Tour level. His last match win was in Newport on grass in late July when he actually won a maiden ATP title.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Marcos Giron Head-To-Head

• Hurkacz leads Giron 2-0 in their head-to-head. Both meetings took place on grass courts.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Marcos Giron Prediction

Giron has not won a match since July. There's still some work to do for him to nail a Top 50 year-end ranking for the first time in his career. However, I can't see him getting any success in Tokyo this year and that could spell doom to him as he defends semifinal points from 2023. Unless, Hurkacz experiences physical issues (doesn't appear to be the case now after recovering from a torn meniscus and then a calf injury), this should be a comfortable win for the Pole.