Newport R2 previews and picks: Isner vs. Krajicek, Karlovic vs. Stakhovsky

Top two seeds and fellow big men John Isner and Ivo Karlovic will continue their Newport campaigns on Wednesday. They are set for respective meetings with Austin Krajicek and Sergiy Stakhovsky.

(1) John Isner vs. (Q) Austin Krajicek

Isner will be back in action at the U.S. Hall of Fame Tennis Championships one day after kicking off his week with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory over Wayne Odesnik. The top-seeded American is bidding for his third title in the last four years at this event and he has now won 14 of his last 15 matches in Newport. Isner is a solid 22-11 this year heading into his favorite part–summer hard courts–and he registers at 12th in the world rankings.

Up next for Isner on Wednesday is a first-ever date with Krajicek, who qualified for the main draw just like Odesnik. The 24-year-old American is competing in his first ATP main-draw tournament and he earned his maiden tour-level victory in round one with a 7-6(7), 6-1 win over Tim Smyczek. The world No. 208 has to be playing with confidence right now, but facing Isner will likely be way too big of a spike in competition from what he is used to seeing on the other side of the net.

Pick: Isner in 2

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Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. (2) Ivo Karlovic

Stakhovsky and Karlovic will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Wednesday. The head-to-head series is tied up at 2-2 and all four of their previous encounters have been contested on hard courts. Stakhovsky won their first two meetings (both indoors in Zagreb in 2008 and 2009) before Karlovic prevailed at the 2009 Indian Wells Masters and via a 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(3) decision at the 2012 Doha event.

Karlovic, ranked 31st and seeded second, began his week with a 7-6(2), 6-2 defeat of Robby Ginepri. The 6’11” Croat, a surprise opening-round loser at Wimbledon, is a decent 20-17 for the year. Stakhovsky, an accomplished grass-courter who toppled Roger Federer at the All-England Club in 2013, beat Farrukh Dustov 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday. The Ukrainian has 19 ATP-level match wins to his credit this season, but he is still struggling down at No. 88 in the world. Breaks will be a few and far between in this one, but a slight edge should go to Karlovic for his superior ability to win free points at crucial moments.

Pick: Karlovic in 3

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