Day 3 at the ATP 250 in Atlanta sees half of the second-round matches kick off. Two Americans in Mackenzie McDonald and Frances Tiafoe will take the court hoping to thrill the home crowd. While there will be some power on display, most of the players are physical baseliners, sure to provide plenty of good rallies. Hopefully the rain will lighten up to allow for all matches to be completed, but the cooler weather will likely provide better grinding tennis than the normal Atlanta heat. Who do you think will win?
ATP Atlanta Day 3 Predictions
Arthur Rinderknech vs Adam Walton
Head-to-head: 1-0 Rinderknech
Rinderknech is a solid player looking to get back on track after a fairly disappointing summer. He will be glad to be back on a hard court where he can use his big serve to his advantage. He looked sharp in the first round against J.J. Wolf where he did not face a break point the entire match. Walton has racked up a good amount of match wins this year, though most have been in qualifying or at the Challenger level. He does not yet have the game it take to beat a player like Rinderknech who will take care of business on serve and keep control of the match.
Prediction: Rinderknech in 2
Adrian Mannarino vs Mattia Bellucci
Head-to-head: First meeting
Mannarino comes into Atlanta looking to turn around a difficult season so far where he has posted just an 8-18 record. He is in a poor stretch having won just one of his last 13 matches. He will be hoping to get back on form on hard courts where he has had his best results this year, with his fourth round at the Australian Open really his only good event. He matches up well with Bellucci who is a baseline grinder who has played a lot of tennis this week after a three and a half hour match in the final round of qualifying. Mannarino will have to find some form to win it–but he is still the better player and while vulnerable should still have the edge.
Prediciton: Mannarino in 3
Mackenzie McDonald vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Head-to-head: 5-2 Nishioka
These two are quite familiar with each other with Nishioka having a significant edge in their previous meetings including winning two of three last year, all coming on hard courts. They have similar game styles, relying on ground strokes and long points to wear down their opponents and find an edge. McDonald had a good run in Newport last week but is hoping to correct a poor 2024 to this point. Nishioka has had solid results and while he has struggled against top players has been able to secure plenty of wins. While McDonald looked good in his first round upset over Brandon Nakashima, Nishioka’s game seems to be sharper at the moment and he will make fewer errors and outlast McDonald.
Prediction: Nishioka in 3
Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev
Head-to-head: 2-1 Tiafoe
This should be the match of the day. Tiafoe is an exciting home favorite who has had a fairly disappointing season but will be happy to be back on hard courts. Karatsev seemed to be resurgent after his final in Tokyo at the end of last year but after an injury kept him out for the first half of 2024, he has had trouble regaining his form. He had a solid first round win here in Atlanta though that broke a five-match losing streak. Tiafoe is a challenging player for someone like Karatsev who may not be 100% physically and Tiafoe will use his power and physicality to keep Karatsev off balance and win convincingly.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 2
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
