First-round competition in Tokyo gets underway on Wednesday, when Frances Tiafoe and Marton Fucsovics take the court. Matteo Berrettini continues his latest comeback from injury against Jaume Munar.
(Q) Marton Fucsovics vs. (8) Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe and Fucsovics will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Japan Open on Wednesday. Fucsovics won their first time encounters, but the tide has turned; Tiafoe evened up the head-to-head series thanks to straight-set victories at the 2020 U.S. Open and the 2023 grass-court tournament in Stuttgart.
The proverbial rubber match comes with both guys absolutely all over the place right now. Tiafoe has posted some decent results in 2025, but his favorite time of year–the North American summer hard-court swing–was a disappointment, summed up by a U.S. Open third-round loss to Jan-Lennard Struff. Fucsovics captured the Winston-Salem title last month, but he lost right away in New York and then went 0-2 in Hungary’s Davis Cup tie against Austria with setbacks against opponents ranked outside the top 150. It’s not saying a lot, but Tiafoe is the more consistent player and should be able to advance.
Pick: Tiafoe in 2
Jaume Munar vs. Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini has been dealing with all kinds of injury issues, to the extent that he has played only two matches since the clay-court swing. The 56th-ranked Italian has not won a match since the Rome Masters in early May, having lost right away at Wimbledon (in five sets to Kamil Majchrzak) and this past week in Hangzhou (6-3, 6-3 to Dalibor Svrcina).
Needless to say, this is a fantastic opportunity for Munar. The 40th-ranked Spaniard is 24-21 this season and has been especially productive on hard courts–both outdoors and indoors. A semifinalist in Hong Kong and Dallas toward the beginning of the year, Munar more recently reached the Winston-Salem quarters and the U.S. Open fourth round. This doesn’t set up well at all for Berrettini against an in-form opponent who can make him play plenty of long rallies.
Pick: Munar in 2
