Auger-Aliassime vs. Mpetshi Perricard, Nakashima vs. Tien

The marquee matchup of round two in Stuttgart pits Felix Auger-Aliassime against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Thursday. Brandon Nakashima and Learned Tien are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. (4) Felix Auger-Aliassime

Auger-Aliassime and Mpetshi Perricard will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they meet during second-round competition at the BOSS Open on Thursday afternoon. Mpetshi Perricard won their first encounter 6-1, 7-6(6) on the indoor hard courts of Basel last fall before Auger-Aliassime got the job done 6-2, 6-4 this spring on the red clay of Hamburg.

A third different surface provides the setting for this proverbial rubber match, and it should be a good one since both players are effective on grass. Mpetshi Perricard wields one of the biggest serves on tour, which was on display throughout a 7-6(10), 3-6, 7-5 first-round victory over Roman Safiullin (26 aces). The 21-year-old Frenchman made his Wimbledon debut last summer and reached the fourth round as a lucky loser. Auger-Aliassime has not been playing well and this is his first grass-court match of the year, so Mpetshi Perricard looks poised for an upset.

Pick: Mpetshi Perricard in 3

Learner Tien vs. (6) Brandon Nakashima

It will be an all-American showdown when Nakashima and Tien go head-to-head for the first time on Thursday. Grass is a surface on which Tien’s game could do some damage, but there are generally growing pains for everyone on the green stuff and to say that he is inexperienced would be a gross understatement. The world No. 68 played his first-ever grass-court match on Tuesday and got a retirement from Yoshihito Nishioka after they split the first two sets in tiebreakers.

Although Nakashima is just four years Tien’s elder at 23, he already has plenty of grass-court experience. The world No. 31 is 25-16 lifetime on the lawn after opening in Stuttgart with a three-set victory over an in-form Jake Fearnley. Nakashima’s above-average serve and flat backhand have worked well on grass in the early stages of his career, so he should have the edge in this one.

Pick: Nakashima in 2