ATP San Diego has a second partial day of matches in Round 1, which will run three days in total. Last year’s champion Casper Ruud is not in the draw, and the tournament is wide open for a new champion and surprising runs from newcomers, without many high-ranked players in the draw. Can Brandon Holt build on his momentum from his US Open win over Taylor Fritz, or will an old hand like #1 seed Dan Evans capture another title? We give our predictions below, including Fernando Verdasco vs Denis Kudla.
ATP San Diego Day 2 Predictions Including Brandon Nakashima vs Zachary Svajda
Christopher Eubanks vs Mitchell Krueger
Head-to-head: first meeting
Neither Eubanks nor Krueger has much experience on the ATP Tour, and have only combined for 11 hard court wins at that level. Eubanks has a higher win percentage on hard by a fair amount at the Challenger level, and both have won three titles there. Eubanks has a couple Top 100 wins recently, and has a 3-1 H2H lead over Krueger at the sub-ATP level, all four matches played on hard, and two of Eubanks’ wins coming last year. Krueger, meanwhile, is on a four-game skid and is ranked a hundred places lower. Eubanks doesn’t inspire me here, but he should get the win.
Prediction: Eubanks in 3
Fernando Verdasco vs Denis Kudla
Head-to-head: 1-1
This is a difficult match to pick. Neither player has done well on the ATP Tour this year, both beneath 30% win percentage at that level. Verdasco, who has historically done fairly well on hard courts, has yet to win a match on the surface this year in four tries. Kudla has managed four wins in fourteen tries. The H2H is split, with Verdasco winning their lone match on hard, but that is too little to go on. Neither has played well recently, and I will give the match to Kudla simply based on his comparative youth.
Prediction: Kudla in 3
Taro Daniel vs Emilio Nava
Head-to-head: first meeting
Nava has been rising in the rankings all year at the age of 20, but has yet to accomplish more than a single win at the ATP level. Daniel is mainly a Challenger player, but he has a good record on hard court on the Challenger tour, and wins regularly enough at the ATP level that he should be favored over a player ranked #173. The Japanese man also has a high level that he reaches at times, such as in wins against a handful of Top 100 players this year including Sebastian Korda and Alex Molcan. Daniel and Nava have split H2Hs in qualifiers on hard court this year, and Daniel can be up and down in his level of play, so I can’t give it to him in straight sets.
Prediction: Daniel in 3
Brandon Nakashima vs Zachary Svajda
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should be a quick cruise for Nakashima. Zachary Svajda is a 19 year-old American ranked #411, and is making his first ATP start of the year, and fifth overall. He has a sub-.500 win percentage on hard at the Challenger level, and has recently been having to qualify for Challengers. Nakashima is a legitimate hard courter, with a recent win over Grigor Dimitrov at the US Open to show for it. Maybe the future will be bright for young Svajda, but Nakashima should take care of business handily.
Prediction: Nakashima in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
