Delray Beach QF previews and predictions: Sock vs. Johnson, Del Potro vs. Querrey

Three Americans will be part of the Delray Beach quarterfinal festivities on Friday. Countrymen and occasional doubles partners Jack Sock and Steve Johnson will be squaring off, while Sam Querrey is set to face Juan Martin Del Potro.

(5) Steve Johnson vs. (3) Jack Sock

It will be a showdown between Rio Olympics bronze medal-winning doubles partners when Sock and Johnson square off in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open on Friday. The two Americans faced each other four times at the ATP level and on three occasions at Challengers, with Sock leading the overall head-to-head series 4-2 (3-1 ATP). Sock is 3-1 at Johnson’s expense on outdoor hard courts, having most recently prevailed 6-4, 6-3 in last month’s Auckland semis.

Sock went on to capture the Auckland title, highlighting what has been an awesome start to the 2017 campaign. The world No. 21 is 9-1 this season with a third-round showing at the Australian Open and wins this week over Radu Albot and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Johnson also refused to a drop a set en route to the last eight in Delray Beach, with routine defeats of Stefan Kozlov and Yoshihito Nishioka. The fifth seed is bouncing back nicely from a bad 6-0, 6-4 loss to Mikhail Kukushkin in the Memphis quarters. Based on current form and the result of their Auckland showdown, Sock should have a clear edge in this one.

Pick: Sock in 2

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(4) Sam Querrey vs. (7) Juan Martin Del Potro

Del Potro is off to a 2-0 start this season and his reward is a quarterfinal rematch with the defending Delray Beach champion, who ousted him during semifinal action last year. Heading into the 2016 tournament, Del Potro had not played in almost 12 months because of his recurring issues. This time around, the 42nd-ranked Argentine was sidelined for just two months–and that could be chalked up due to rest as opposed to an actual physical problem. Maintaining momentum from a resurgent 2016 campaign, Del Potro has advanced with wins this week over Kevin Anderson and Damir Dzumhur.

Despite last season’s setback, the 2009 U.S. Open champion is still 2-1 lifetime in the head-to-head series with Querrey. Del Potro prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in the Auckland final eight years ago before getting the job done 6-2, 7-5 on the indoor hard courts of Valencia in 2011. Querrey helped set up a fourth career showdown against Del Potro when, following a first-round bye, he took care of fellow American and Delray Beach doubles partner Jared Donaldson 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday afternoon. The world No. 35 is a modest 4-3 this year and has not done much since shocking Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last summer. Del Potro looks poised for some revenge and will be motivated to finish this one quickly after being pushed to an unnecessary third set by Dzumhur due to a blown 3-1 lead in the second.

Pick: Del Potro in 2

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