Day four at the Washington Open will see the remaining sixteen players take to the court to battle for a place in the quarterfinals. Though a number of seeds, including world #8 Karen Khachanov and recent Atlanta Open champion Alex De Minaur have already fallen by the wayside, plenty of big names remain in the draw. But who will reach the last eight?
Washington Open Day Four Predictions
John Isner vs Benoit Paire
Head-to-head: Isner 1-0 Paire
John Isner has struggled to find both fitness and form so far this year, but the American #1 looked back to something approaching his best in defeating the talented young Pole Hubert Hurkacz in straight-sets, 6-4 6-4. The North Carolinian is invariably a threat on the hard courts of North America thanks to his thunderous serve and big forehand and will surely be hoping to gather some much-needed momentum heading into the US Open next month.
Benoit Paire, in contrast, is a player in the form of his life. The Frenchman has won two titles already this season and reached the fourth round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He was, however, made to work hard for his victory over Marc Polmans, edging out the Australian in a final-set tiebreak. But whilst Paire has the form, Isner will have the backing of the crowd and his game is surely better suited to the conditions at the Washington Open. That should give him the edge.
Prediction: Isner in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Milos Raonic vs Peter Gojowczyk
Head-to-head: Raonic 1-1 Gojowczyk
Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk has given eighth seed Milos Raonic real trouble in the past, beating the Canadian in Halle four years ago before extending him to four sets at the US Open later that season. He is also in good form after beating German Open finalist Andrey Rublev 7-6 4-6 7-6 and Atlanta champion Alex De Minaur 6-3 7-6. That said, the hard courts of North America are server’s courts and there are few better from the line than Raonic. The 2016 Wimbledon finalist still looks to be short of belief, but his game is where he would like it to be and if he trusts in it, it should see him past the challenge of Gojowczyk.
Prediction: Raonic in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Nick Kyrgios vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Head-to-head: Kyrgios 3-0 Nishioka
Nick Kyrgios, never a stranger to controversy, engaged in a heated discussion with chair umpire Fergus Murphy before refusing to shake his hand after his second-round win over Gilles Simon. But that should not detract from the fact that he is playing excellent tennis and has not yet dropped a set at the Washington Open. Yoshihito Nishioka has been playing well himself, dismissing Dan Evans in the first round before edging past David Goffin. But he has lost all three of his meetings with the Australian and, if Kyrgios is focused, there seems to be little reason to expect a different outcome this time.
Prediction: Kyrgios in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jordan Thompson
Head-to-head: first meeting
Stefanos Tsitsipas has more than made good on his breakthrough 2018 campaign this season and will surely be targeting a profitable run over the North American summer hard-court swing. But he will be up against a man in the form of his life in the shape of world #46 Jordan Thompson. The Australian, who went 1-11 at tour-level last season, has taken the good form he displayed on the Challenger tour last year into ATP events with sterling success.
In the first round, he proved too strong for Jack Sock, winning in straight-sets, before edging out Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-7 6-4 7-5. However, that marathon match against Struff may leave him short of energy up against Tsitsipas. That will be a concern for a player who relies so much on his grit and determination to get across the line. And if his legs are heavy, the big-hitting Tsitsipas will have more than enough quality to make him pay for it.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
