The ATP Chengdu Open continues outdoors on the hard courts at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu, China. Day 2 features 10 matches, but we’ll focus on three here, including the all-French encounter between Alexandre Muller and youngster Moise Kouame. Who will advance?
ATP Chengdu Day 2 Predictions
Alexandre Muller vs Moise Kouame
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Chengdu serves up a generational showdown of Frenchmen as 17-year-old Moise Kouame takes on 29-year-old Alexandre Muller. Kouame is still riding the wave from Roland Garros, where a couple of wins earlier this year briefly put him in the spotlight, and he has kept climbing the rankings since. Muller, meanwhile, has managed just one more main-draw win than the teenager in 2026, and that thin return has dropped him outside the Top 100.
Both men have plenty to play for. Muller badly needs a run to rediscover his rhythm, while Kouame would love to close in on the top 100 before the season ends, and a deep week in Chengdu would help. With national bragging rights in the mix too, the teenager has nothing to lose and may swing more freely, but Muller has looked solid in qualifying
Prediction: Muller in 3
Martin Damm vs Shintaro Mochizuki
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Martin Damm’s breakthrough 2026 rolls on. The 22-year-old American has crashed into the Top 100, and he arrives in Chengdu playing the best tennis of his career and with a big serve to match.
Shintaro Mochizuki, a qualifier, is a different story. The Japanese has struggled to build on his surprise Wimbledon run, and he’ll be hoping the move to Asia sparks a revival. It’s their first meeting, but the conditions and the firepower favor Damm, who should hold serve with ease and put the pressure on his opponent’s every service game. Expect Damm to move through in what could be a one-sided contest.
Prediction: Damm in 2
Denis Shapovalov vs Tallon Griekspoor
Head–to–Head: Shapovalov 1 – 1 Griekspoor
Tallon Griekspoor and Denis Shapovalov are heading for round three of their rivalry in Chengdu, and this one moves to hard courts. The Canadian took the last meeting in three sets in Munich earlier this year. The Dutchman had won their first, a deciding-set thriller in Geneva in 2024. The rankings can’t split them, but Shapovalov arrives in slightly better form and has banked a few more wins this season.
Expect fireworks, and plenty of wobbles. Both men can serve the roof off a stadium, and both are prone to peaks and troughs, so a third straight three-setter is a good shout. The hard courts should suit the big servers, and whoever holds his nerve when it gets tight will take the spoils. Griekspoor gets the nod, but only just.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
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