We are down to eight men at the ATP 250 event in Delray Beach, Florida. The top five seeds remain in contention while four Americans are looking for a title on their home soil. The conditions at Delray Beach have been wet and windy. The more mentally sharp players have prevailed through short match rain stoppages and 35 mile per hour gusts of wind. The quarterfinal slate features some heavy hitting matchups including the #1 seed Cameron Norrie taking on the #5 seed Sebastian Korda. Who will advance?
ATP Delray Beach Quarterfinal Predictions
Tommy Paul vs Stefan Kozlov
Head-to-head: First meeting
The two 24-year-old Americans have had very different career paths after being considered the next great American players during their junior years. Paul has been slowly climbing the rankings and currently sits at a career high of #41 in the world. Kozlov’s career has been ravaged by injuries and inconsistency. He played just three tour-level matches from 2018-2021. With that said, he is playing some inspiring tennis this week. Kozlov worked his way through two qualifying rounds before besting Emilio Gomez and Steve Johnson to reach the quarterfinals. Paul, who received a Round 1 bye, took down Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-0 in his only match of the week. Kozlov should give Paul some pushback, but I do not believe he has the repertoire to get by Paul.
Prediction: Paul 7-6 6-4
Adrian Mannarino vs Reilly Opelka
Head-to-head: 2-0 Opelka
Adrian Mannarino and Reilly Opelka meet for back-to-back weeks in the quarterfinal of 250 events. Last week in Dallas, the American defeated the Frenchman 6-3 6-4 in route to his third tour-level title. Opelka used a 17-ace serving performance to take down Mannarino in 56 minutes. Mannarino is playing some very good tennis to start the season, but if Opelka finds his first serve, he will be very tough to beat. I expect this match to be more of a battle than last week’s affair, though I do see the same result coming to fruition.
Prediction: Opelka 6-7 7-6 6-4
John Millman vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: Dimitrov 2-0
Australian John Millman had a rough start to the 2022 season but has rebounded here in Delray Beach taking out Americans Maxime Cressy and Marcos Giron to reach the quarterfinals. He will take on former world #3 Grigor Dimitrov, who handled Mitchell Krueger 7-6, 6-3 in his only match of the week thus far. Both of Dimitrov’s wins over Millman came on outdoor hard courts. I favor the Bulgarian to once again get the best of Millman. Dimitrov will play a slice backhand all match long looking to set up his powerful forehand. I do not foresee Millman hitting through Dimitrov, meaning Dimitrov should have success if he can avoid rally ball errors.
Prediction: Dimitrov 6-4 6-3
Cameron Norrie vs Sebastian Korda
Head-to-head: Korda 2-0
Cameron Norrie and Sebastian Korda have met two previous times at Tour-level. The first was at the 2021 Delray Beach Open with Korda topping the Brit 6-3 7-5. The second was at this year’s Australian Open. Korda once again cruised in straight sets. Both Norrie and Korda won their Round 2 matches with relative ease and should be well-rested for this quarterfinal showdown. Considering their previous matches and current form, the American Korda has the edge in this one. Norrie has started his 2022 campaign with a 3-5 record. Korda sits at 4-1.
Prediction: Korda 7-5 3-6 6-4
Main Photo from Getty.
