American Sebastian Korda will take on resurgent Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Delray Beach first round on Tuesday. Fellow Americans Jenson Brooksby and Stefan Kozlov will also be kicking off their weeks.
(5) Sebastian Korda vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
American Sebastian Korda earned his first-ever final berth at 2021’s edition of the Delray Beach Open. The world No. 43 also won his first ATP tournament last year, but he had a bit of bad luck to finish out the season. Korda dealt with a stomach bug at the U.S. Open and lost in the first round. He had a decent if slightly underwhelming start at the Australian Open, where he bowed out in the third round to Pablo Carreno Busta.
Thanasi Kokkinakis came on like a freight train in his first two events in 2022. The Aussie, who has struggled mightily with injuries over the past few years, made the semis in the first Adelaide tournament and won the second Adelaide tournament. He crashed on in the first round at the Australian Open but went on to win doubles with pal and countryman Nick Kyrgios.
Kokkinakis has the kind of game that can give most any player trouble when he is hitting the ball well. He has a monster first serve and booming groundstrokes. The good news for Korda is that Kokkinakis also wildly inconsistent. Korda is patient enough, with solid groundstrokes of his own, that he can press the Aussie into making errors.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 2
Ricky pick: Korda in 2
(6) Jenson Brooksby vs. (Q) Stefan Kozlov
Jenson Brooksby comes into Delray off a run to the finals in Dallas just a couple of days ago. He lost the title to Reilly Opelka in two tiebreak sets. Brooksby sits at a career-high No. 45 in the world, just below Korda. The American was unable to participate in the Australian Open due to a positive Covid-19 test.
Qualifier Stefan Kozlov sits at No. 151 in the world. The 24-year old spent most of 2021 playing on the Challenger circuit attempting to get his ranking up. He did win a match in Melbourne to start the season over Jiri Vesely, but he ran into Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Despite his loss a couple days ago, Brooksby is on a hot streak at the moment. He has played a lot of tennis, but at age 21 and with the fresh legs of the start of the season, he should find his way through.
Cheryl pick: Brooksby in 2
Ricky pick: Brooksby in 2
WWW?
Korda in 2; Brooksby in 2.