Day 4 at the ATP 500 event in Washington will feature plenty of exciting action, including 2019 champion and this year’s Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, who will play what is in theory the most intriguing match of the day against Reilly Opelka.
ATP Washington Day 4 Predictions
Botic Van De Zandschulp vs Frances Tiafoe
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players had very solid runs at Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round. Tiafoe only lost to Goffin at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while Botic also lost to the same player in both Slams but it was against Rafael Nadal. The two players are separated by just one spot in the rankings and the match should indeed be very even. Tiafoe has the home advantage and that might perhaps be enough to swing the pendulum his way.
Predictions: Tiafoe in 3
Holger Rune vs Jeffrey John Wolf
Head-to-head: first meeting
Rune had an absolutely nightmarish run after his Roland Garros quarterfinal defeat. After his upset victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Paris, he lost seven matches in a row, four of them on his favorite surface (clay). He finally managed to put an end to that streak today with a win over Benoit Paire and he’ll be looking to get back on track as soon as possible. With this draw, he should be able to notch at least another win, but Wolf has been in great form this week, with wins over Taro Daniel and a slumping Denis Shapovalov, and he might well make life very difficult for the Danish youngster.
Prediction: Rune in 3
Mikael Ymer vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: Ruusuvuori 2-0 Ymer
Both players have notched a pair of excellent, perhaps unexpected victories to get to this stage and will be feeling very confident ahead of this third round match. Ruusuvuori is the slight favorite in this Nordic affair, but a very close encounter is to be expected here.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
Nick Kyrgios vs Reilly Opelka
Head-to-head: Opelka 2-0 Kyrgios
Kyrgios normally has the serving edge when he steps onto the court, but against Opelka it’s a very different story. In their previous meetings, Opelka’s steadiness (on the back of his unbelievable serve) prevailed over Kyrgios’s explosiveness and it might well be the case again although Kyrgios is looking more focused than usual this week.
Prediction: Opelka in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
