Juan Martin Del Potro will get his season started when he takes the court against fellow oft-injured big man Kevin Anderson on Tuesday in Delray Beach. No. 2 seed Ivo Karlovic, meanwhile, is facing Memphis semifinalist Donald Young.
Kevin Anderson vs. (7) Juan Martin Del Potro
Del Potro skipped the Australian summer but he could not resist the temptation of getting things underway in 2017 at his old stomping grounds of the Delray Beach Open. The 42nd-ranked Argentine battled through wrist concerns throughout 2016 and capped off an impressive year by leading Argentina to its first-ever Davis Cup title. He decided he needed more than a month for an offseason, so Del Potro should be feeling rested and confident heading into Delray Beach. The 2009 U.S. Open champion is 8-1 lifetime at this event with a title in 2011 and a semifinal performance last season.
Up first for Del Potro on Tuesday is a sixth career meeting with Anderson, who is a futile 0-5 in the head-to-head series (all on hard courts). They have not faced each other since 2013, when Del Potro got the job done in straight sets in Washington, D.C. Anderson has struggled against just about everyone in recent times, mainly because of recurring injuries. The 6’8” South African is toiling down at No. 75 in the world and dropped his season-opening match to Damir Dzumhur last week in Memphis. Anderson picked up multiple wins at three different events starting with the 2016 U.S. Open, but he also lost his first match at six tournaments staring with Wimbledon. A bad draw against Del Potro will likely signal another early exit for Anderson.
Pick: Del Potro in 2
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Donald Young vs. (2) Ivo Karlovic
Karlovic and Young will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers at the ATP main-draw level and for the fourth time overall when they meet again on Tuesday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Karlovic’s way; 6-4, 6-4 in 2011 Houston qualifying, 6-3, 6-3 in the final of this same Delray Beach tournament in 2015, and 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-4 at last summer’s U.S. Open.
The 6’11” Croat, however, is coming off consecutive immediate exits as a No. 1 seed. He lost to Victor Estrella Burgos in Quito after double-faulting on a match point and succumbed to Nikoloz Basilashvili in Memphis. Just 4-4 this season, Karlovic has not beaten anyone ranked higher than 53rd and he has also suffered blowout losses to Fernando Verdasco (Doha) and David Goffin (Australian Open). Young warmed up perfectly for this test by taking down John Isner in Memphis before bowing at the hands of eventual champion Ryan Harrison in the semifinals. The 69th-ranked American looks poised for a first-ever victory at the expense of a slumping opponent.
Pick: Young in 3
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I think Del Potro is going to win the whole thing, so I’ll go with him. Young may be tired and I’m guessing Ivo is tired of being knocked out in the first round, so going with Ivo in 3.
Young in three and Del Potro in three