Newport R2 previews and predictions: Zverev vs. Pospisil, Karlovic vs. Sela

A quartet of veterans headlines the Wednesday schedule in Newport, where second-round action is getting underway. Eastbourne champion Mischa Zverev continues his grass-court campaign against Vasek Pospisil, while Ivo Karlovic faces Dudi Sela.

Vasek Pospisil vs. (2) Mischa Zverev

Zverev and Pospisil will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the first time at the main-draw level when they clash in round two of the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open on Wednesday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Zverev’s way; 7-5, 6-3 in 2012 Memphis qualifying and 6-4, 7-6(5) again on indoor hard courts during 2016 Basel qualifying. On paper, the 30-year-old German is a clear favorite to get the best of Pospisil once more. Zverev registers at No. 47 in the world and he has earned 15 ATP-level match victories this season, including his first career title on the grass of Eastbourne.

Pospisil, who once peaked at 25th in the rankings in 2014, has returned to the top 100 (No. 98) thanks to success on the Challenger Tour. His 7-6(5), 6-1 defeat of Donald Young on Tuesday marked just his third ATP-level match win of this 2018 campaign. Pospisil had lost five matches in a row dating back to the Busan Challenger final in mid-way, with opening setbacks at Roland Garros, in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, in Halle, and at Wimbledon. Whereas Young has been an absolute disaster this year, Zverev is in fine form and excels especially on the green stuff.

Pick: Zverev in 2

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Dudi Sela vs. Ivo Karlovic

Karlovic and Sela will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at a perfectly dominant 6-0 in favor of Karlovic, who is 13-2 in total sets at the diminutive Israeli’s expense. They have not faced each other since a 2014 encounter in Bogota, where the 6’11” Croat prevailed 7-6(8), 7-6(5) before Sela famously brought a linesperson’s chair to stand on for the post-match handshake/hug–thus making up for the 14-inch height difference. These two veterans have collided once on grass, with Karlovic getting the job done 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5) in the Wimbledon opening round six years ago.


Both men picked up solid grass-court wins over Aussies during first-round action in Newport. Karlovic avoided a seemingly inevitable final-set tiebreaker with Alex de Minaur by breaking serve at 5-5 in the third and winning 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-5. It was the 39-year-old’s second grass-court victory of the season following a Wimbledon win over Mikhail Youzhny that preceded a 13-11 in the fifth set loss to Jan-Lennard Struff. Sela disposed of Bernard Tomic 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on Tuesday, improving to 6-8 on the main tour in 2018. Based on current form and their history against one another, Karlovic should once again have the edge.

Pick: Karlovic in 3

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