Just two men are still standing at the first event of the North American summer hard-court swing with second seed and home hope Taylor Fritz set to take on Australia’s Alex De Minaur, seeded third. But who will come out on top in the Atlanta Open final?
Atlanta Open Final Prediction
Taylor Fritz vs Alex De Minaur
Head-to-head: De Minaur 1-0 Fritz
Fritz, who won his first tour-level title earlier this season on the grass courts in Eastbourne, has had an excellent week at the Atlanta Open. He began his campaign, after a first-round bye, with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 win over Grigor Dimitrov’s conqueror Kevin King, before besting Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1 7-6 in the quarterfinals. The Californian backed that up by battling past Cameron Norrie of Great Britain 6-1 3-6 6-3 in a match in which his ability to step in and dictate was invaluable.
De Minaur has been similarly impressive. The Australian also enjoyed a first-round bye, opening his tournament with a convincing 6-4 6-4 win over Bradley Klahn on the USA. He then booked his place in the quarterfinals when his compatriot Bernard Tomic was forced to withdraw trailing 2-6 0-3. De Minaur then managed to cut the giant Reilly Opelka, who beat defending champion and top seed John Isner in the second round, down to size, prevailing 7-6 6-7 6-3 thanks to some excellent returning.
He will need more of the same to contend with Fritz, who has been having one of the best weeks of his career on serve. The American has more than once topped the 140 mph mark with his first serve and he will surely be hoping to impose himself once again from the line. If he can, it could well prove the difference, as there looks to be little to separate this pair off the ground. Both cover the court extremely well and hit a clean ball. But where De Minaur may be able to carve out an advantage is with his superior depth. If he can force Fritz, as he has so many others, off the baseline, then the match will surely be his for the taking.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3
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