Tennis action this week moves onwards to Delray Beach Open in the United States, after the exciting week in Rotterdam which culminated in Gael Monfils winning his eighth career title. Juan Martin del Potro will finally be opening his 2019 season after being forced to extend his off-season on account of the knee injury, sustained in late 2018.
As with all good things though, one has to wait to see the Argentine take to the courts. Meanwhile, the line-up of the first-round action to be played on Monday has a lot to offer. Here is rounding up the day’s singles play:
Delray Beach Open Day 1 Predictions
Lukas Lacko vs Yosuke Watanuki
This will be the first meeting between the two. Lacko is ranked higher than his opponent, 133rd to the Japanese player’s #181, but there is not much separating the two. From a broader perspective, the 31-year-old is yet to win a match this year, having lost two opening-round matches in the qualifiers, at the Australian Open and in Sofia, and one first-round match at the New York Open. This puts him under pressure to do well against his 20-year-old rival for the day. On the other hand, it also presents Watanuki with a convenient opportunity to score an upset for himself.
Prediction: Lacko in 2
Denis Istomin vs Feliciano Lopez
Istomin has continued his ebb and flow in the singles rankings and is currently placed in the immediate outskirts of the top-100. And although Lopez remains well-cushioned inside the ATP top-100, his downward spiral is unmistakable. So, who will come through from this clash of lop-sidedness?
For starters, the Spaniard leads the head-to-head against Istomin 3-0. But their last meeting came almost six years ago, at the now-defunct Memphis Open in 2013. Both players have seen and played a lot since then and the 37-year-old Lopez has moved onto other things even as he is counting down to his retirement. As such, Istomin looks like he could score his first win over Lopez.
Prediction: Istomin in 2
Lloyd Harris vs Darian King
The 21-year-old South African joined compatriot Kevin Anderson in the ATP top-100 after making his debut on February 11th 2019. A wild card into the Delray Beach Open soon followed, and with his opening match against Barbadian qualifier Darian King, he has a chance to boost himself further up in the rankings. This will be the first meeting between the two players.
Prediction: Harris in 2
Nick Kyrgios vs John Millman
The Australian derby is the quirkiest match of the day. Kyrgios’ usual antics coupled with his being besieged by continuing injuries – he was forced to withdraw from the ABN Amro Open with an injury – have seen him suffer a free-fall in the rankings. In context with the Delray Beach Open, this has, then, meant that not only is Millman entered in the draw as the higher seed, he also goes in with a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head meetings. Although this result came about a while ago, the continuing of Kyrgios’ struggles leads one to infer that his older compatriot could score yet another win over him.
Prediction: Millman in 2
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