Winston-Salem R2 previews and predictions: Verdasco vs. Fritz, Johnson vs. Rosol

Fernando Verdasco will kick off his Winston-Salem campaign when he takes the court against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. In addition to Fritz, fellow American Steve Johnson is also in action and he will face former champion Lukas Rosol.

(15) Fernando Verdasco vs. Taylor Fritz

Verdasco and Fritz will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday. Fritz is preparing to make his first-ever appearance in the main draw of the U.S. Open, and he soared past the direct-entry cut line for the season’s final Grand Slam with room to spare. Up to No. 54 in the world, the 18-year-old American owns 13 of his 14 career ATP-level match victories in 2016. Fritz appeared to lose momentum from a quarterfinal performance in Atlanta when he got blown out by Mikhail Youzhny in his Cincinnati opener, but he rebounded to beat fellow 18-year-old American Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-4 on Monday.

This is Verdasco’s first match of the week because he snagged the second to last seed in Winston-Salem (No. 15). Fourteen years Fritz’s senior at 32, the Spaniard still registers at a decent 47th in the rankings. He is a respectable 25-18 for the season and his post-Wimbledon summer includes a runner-up showing in Bastad and a quarterfinal finish in Atlanta. Fritz is not quite as on fire right now as he was earlier in the year, and he does not yet possess any single weapon like the Verdasco forehand. In what is likely to be a competitive contest, experience should have a slight edge in this one.

Pick: Verdasco in 3

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Lukas Rosol vs. (4) Steve Johnson

Johnson will be playing his first match as the No. 1 American man on Tuesday. He passed countryman John Isner at 21st in the world (Isner is now 35 points behind at No. 22) thanks to a quarterfinal run last week in Cincinnati. Since the start of the Nottingham event in late June, Johnson is 18-6 with a title (Nottingham), a fourth-round performance at Wimbledon, a semifinal appearance in Washington, D.C., and a quarterfinal showing at the Olympics to go along with his Cincinnati exploits.

Up first for the No. 4 seed in Winston-Salem is a second career showdown against Rosol–and first at the ATP level. Their only previous meeting came two years ago at the Irving Challenger, where Rosol dominated 6-0, 6-3 to take the title. The 82nd-ranked Czech is a modest 14-18 for the year and had not won an ATP main-draw match since Geneva in late May until he held off Victor Estella Burgos 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 on Monday. Johnson may be too tired and too focused on the U.S. Open to produce another long week in Winston-Salem, but he is simply playing so much better than Rosol that the favorite will stick around for at least one more match.

Pick: Johnson in 3

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