An all-American affair is part of the Wednesday schedule in Auckland, where Jack Sock is going up against Ryan Harrison. Marcos Baghdatis and Dustin Brown are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(Q) Ryan Harrison vs. (4) Jack Sock
Sock and Harrison will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they meet again in round two of the ASB Classic on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came five years ago on the indoor hard courts of Memphis, where Harrison prevailed 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. It has already been a stellar week for Harrison, who qualified for the main draw with wins over Marcin Matkowski and Jose Statham before hammering Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday. The 24-year-old American also played well throughout the second half of last season and he will reach the top 80 in the world if he upsets Sock.
Sock is playing his first match of the tournament, having received the last of the opening-round byes as the No. 4 seed. Also 24 years old, the American got in plenty of practice at last week’s Hopman Cup. He picked up victories over Adam Pavlasek, Feliciano Lopez, and Nick Kyrgios before losing a thriller to Richard Gasquet as the United States finished runner-up to France. All of that should help Sock as he begins his quest to make a return trip to the Auckland title match.
Pick: Sock in 3
[polldaddy poll=9632848]
(WC) Dustin Brown vs. (8) Marcos Baghdatis
Baghdatis and Brown will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers (fourth at the ATP level) on Wednesday. All four of their previous meetings have gone Baghdatis’ way. The Cypriot got the job done at the 2012 clay-court event in Munich, at Wimbledon in 2014, and twice last season at the Irving Challenger and on the grass courts of Halle. Baghdatis has taken the last five sets at Brown’s expense and he is a perfect 4-0 against the German in tiebreakers.
The former world No. 8 retired from his opening match in Doha last week, but he got back on track with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday. Brown, coming off a second-round showing in Doha, advanced on Monday by scraping past Michael Mmoh 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4. As the numbers indicate, this is a tough matchup for the world No. 70 because he frequently charges the net and Baghdatis loves having a target at which to showcase his clean ball-striking. The eighth seed’s head-to-head dominance of Brown will likely continue.
Pick: Baghdatis in 3
[polldaddy poll=9632849]
who ya got?
Baghdatis in three and sock in two
Brown and Baghdatis a great match. Loving some of the stuff Brown is coming up with. Come on Dreddy!!
Disappointing finish from Brown but at the same time you can expect that whacky brand of tennis from Dreddy. And that’s why I love watching him lol. Just a shame he couldn’t convert up 0-40 at 4-4. And he ended the match with a pretty easy volley miss. Still he served pretty dang well under pressure for the most part. He’s closing in on a career high ranking now. Would’ve achieved that with a win today but still he’s really close now. 66 in the live rankings at the moment. Close to his career high of 64. Excited to see what he can do in Melbourne. He’s become a tad more consistent I would say. I think he will do some big things this season.