Juan Martin Del Potro will take on New York Open champion Reilly Opelka for a spot in the Delray Beach semifinals on Thursday. Meanwhile, Aussie bad boy Nick Kyrgios is looking for a spot in the quarters as he faces Radu Albot.
(1) WC Juan Martin del Potro vs. Reilly Opelka
Juan Martin Del Potro will face 56th-ranked Reilly Opelka in the Delray Beach quarters on Thursday. On paper, it looks like an easy win for Del Potro–but this match has the makings of a battle. First, Del Potro Is just back from injury. He hasn’t played since October of last year and he is sure to fighting off at least a little bit of rust. Next, Opelka came somewhat out of nowhere to win in New York last week.
Opelka is an inch shy of 7-feet tall with one of the most dangerous serves on tour. He leads the charge of the NextGen’s big servers, a new look at the John Isner way of playing professional tennis. Perhaps it was inevitable that the young American had to defeat Isner en route to his first title, as he did in New York last week.
Del Potro is still the favorite, as he has a better all-court game and years of experience at the biggest moments of tennis; but a close match or even an upset wouldn’t be an enormous surprise.
Cheryl pick: Del Potro in 3
Ricky pick: Del Potro in 2
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Nick Kyrgios vs Radu Albot
Back in 2016, Nick Kyrgios was ranked 13th in the world–considered the future of Australian tennis. In 2019, he sits at 64th. His first-round win this week over countryman John Millman puts his record for the year at 2-2. His second-round opponent is Romania’s Radu Albot.
Albot has had quite a good start to his season. The Romanian made the semifinals in Montpellier a couple weeks ago, eventually losing to veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He was dispatched in the second round last week in New York by Sam Querrey, but in some ways that could be a blessing for this week because Delray marks his third tournament in three weeks.
Based on talent, Kyrgios should be the favorite–especially as he disposed of the fifth-seeded Millman in a tight contest in the first round. But the Aussie has proven that he is capable of losing at any time for no reason at all…or for many reasons. The outcome of the match depends heavily on whether Kyrgios comes to play or not.
Cheryl pick: Kyrgios in 3
Ricky pick: Kyrgios in 3
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WWW?
Nick should win. Hope he stays healthy. Delpo is the better player but he’s just getting back into it. Opelka is playing well right now, so really don’t know. leaning towards Delpo!
And…down goes Kyrgios.
Well done me
But I did pick Delpo to win the tournament
The NextPox in two with no less than two tiebreaks.
The NextPox in two with no less than two tiebreaks.
#NID
The pox is spreading
What a week of upsets