Day two at the Washington Open will see the first of the seeds, including Karen Khachanov, Marin Cilic and Stefanos Tsitsipas join the fray. But who will book their place in the second round in D.C.?
Washington Open Day Two Predictions
Dan Evans vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Head-to-head: Nishioka 1-0 Evans
Dan Evans has put together an impressive year, reaching his first tour-level final in Delray Beach, and arrives at the Washington Open on the cusp of breaking back into the top 50. The Briton has never lacked talent, but application had been a real problem for Evans throughout much of his career. Now with a renewed focus, he has been showing what he can do. He will, however, need to be at his best against Yoshihito Nishioka.
The Japanese may not be one of the biggest hitters on tour, but he covers the court superbly and possesses accurate groundstrokes. Indeed, he is not entirely dissimilar to Joao Sousa who edged Evans out in the third round at Wimbledon. But that is a match Evans should have won and would have had he served better. Provided he looks after his own deal in this contest, he should have enough variety to see off the challenge of Nishioka.
Prediction: Evans in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Reilly Opelka vs Christopher Eubanks
Head-to-head: Opelka 1-0 Eubanks
In this all-American battle of the big servers, Reilly Opelka is certainly the favourite. The world #43 reached the semifinals in Atlanta last week, losing narrowly to eventual champion Alex De Minaur, and won the title at the New York Open earlier this season. In contrast, Christopher Eubanks, who has won just four ATP matches in his career, has rather struggled to make an impact on the main tour so far and has not yet broken into the world’s top 140.
Opelka won their only previous contest, which came in Atlanta three years ago, 7-6 7-6. One suspects that the pair will play at least one tiebreak in this match, with both possessing dominant serves. But there is certainly more to Opelka’s game than just his serve. He may not be particularly mobile, but he can do damage with both his forehand and backhand. Eubanks is rather more limited in his options off the ground. It’s advantage Opelka as a result.
Prediction: Opelka in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev vs Bjorn Fratangelo
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bjorn Fratangelo scored an excellent win on home soil by battling past Ivo Karlovic in three sets to reach the second round at the Washington Open. But he will face a very different challenge up against world #10 Daniil Medvedev. The Russian does possess a big serve, though it is nothing like Karlovic’s howitzer, but it is not the centrepiece of his game. He is far more reliant on his movement than outright power from the line. He has the athleticism to extend the rallies against Fratangelo and the quality to beat him in them.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Nick Kyrgios vs Thai-Son Kwiatkowski
Head-to-head: first meeting
Nick Kyrgios remains a divisive figure in the sport, largely for reasons of his own making. But he is also, when he wants to be, a superbly gifted player with a game built for hard-court tennis. His serve is one of the most accurate in the sport whilst his forehand can be a punishing weapon. He may have fallen to Rafael Nadal in four sets in the second round at Wimbledon, but he showed in that match why he was once talked about as a potential challenger to the hegemony of the great three.
The American Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, meanwhile, is still looking for his first win at tour-level. But he did play well to battle through the qualifying, beating his compatriot Noah Rubin and former world #12 Viktor Troicki, both in three sets, to reach the main draw. Will that be enough against Kyrgios? The Australian has enough firepower to hit through Kwiatkowski, but unfortunately for the 24-year-old North Carolinian, the same cannot be said in reverse.
Prediction: Kyrgios in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
