Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil will be making his Atlanta singles debut on Wednesday against Illya Marchenko. Sam Querrey and Dudi Sela are also bidding for a place in the quarterfinals.
(Q) Illya Marchenko vs. (4) Vasek Pospisil
Marchenko and Pospisil will be squaring off for the second time in their careers when they meet in round two of the BB&T Atlanta Open on Wednesday afternoon. Their only previous encounter came four years ago during qualifying action at the Canada Masters, where Marchenko scored a 6-3, 6-4 victory. It has been a tale of differing virtues for for the two men since then, however, with Pospisil mostly enjoying an upward trajectory. The 24-year-old Canadian had a breakout season on tour in 2013 that propelled him as high as 25th in the world. Injuries have dented his progress, but Pospisil has momentum from an improbable Wimbledon doubles title and a quarterfinal showing last week in Bogota.
At the other end of the spectrum is Marchenko, who has been in decline since he last faced Pospisil–in part due to physical problems. The 182nd-ranked Ukrainian, though, is in the midst of what is already his best ATP-level week of the year. Marchenko won two qualifying matches then earned his first main-draw win since Chennai by defeating John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday. But for the most part his recent results have not been encouraging.
Pick: Pospisil in 2
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(9) Sam Querrey vs. Dudi Sela
Querrey and Sela will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Wednesday. They have faced each other once on hard courts, with Querrey prevailing 6-3, 7-5 at the 2009 Los Angeles tournament. Sela won their most recent encounter 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-2 two years ago on the grass of Newport. The 5’9” Israeli went through a brutal stretch this spring and earlier in the summer, but he seems to be rounding into form. He compiled a combined three match wins in Newport and Bogota (lost tough two-setters to Ivo Karlovic at both events) and on Monday he avenged a French Open loss to Donald Young with a 6-3, 6-0 blowout victory.
Similarly, Querrey is starting to post consistent results. The 6’6” American reached the Houston semifinals, advanced two rounds at Queen’s Club, made it to the Eastbourne semis, and dropped a five-set thriller to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last 64 at Wimbledon. Querrey opened on Monday in Atlanta with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win over doubles partner Steve Johnson. Sela’s one-handed backhand will keep him competitive if not give him an advantage in the baseline rallies, but Querrey is serving huge and should have too much power for his much smaller opponent.
Pick: Querrey in 2
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Pospisil will struggle against anyone if he plays like he did against Tomic (or like he has for most of the season.) Apart from his first serve, his execution and tactics were terrible.