The 2021 tennis season kicks off in Delray Beach on Thursday with American Sebastian Korda taking on Soonwoo Kwon. Americans Sam Querrey and Mackenzie McDonald are also part of the schedule.
Sebastian Korda vs. Soonwoo Kwon
American upstart Sebastian Korda gained attention at the French Open this past fall with a run through three rounds of qualifying all the way to the round of 16, where he finally ran into the Rafael Nadal and was soundly dismissed. Along the way, though, Korda dispatched both Andreas Seppi and John Isner.
The 20-year-old started the 2020 season ranked 242nd in the world; he now sits at 119th as he eyes a possible breakthrough season in 2021. He will take on South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon, ranked 95th in the world. Kwon didn’t fare nearly as well at the French Open, losing in the first round to Benoit Paire. He is a decent hard-court player and bagged a couple of good match wins last year in Delray Beach over Adrian Mannarino and Ryan Harrison before going out in the quarters to Reilly Opelka.
Korda is poised to have a big year, but facing Kwon in the first round is going to be a tough test for the young American. The South Korean has already demonstrated skill on North American hard courts and would likely have had a handful of decent results in 2020 if the season hadn’t been cut so short due to COVID-19. This should be a good one.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 3
Ricky pick: Kwon in 3
(6) Sam Querrey vs. Mackenzie McDonald
American veteran Sam Querrey isn’t a player generally known for controversy, but he found himself embroiled in a legitimate scandal when he fled Russian quarantine after he and his family tested positive for COVID-19. The ATP meted out the equivalent of a warning (a fine that he can avoid paying provided he doesn’t find himself a fugitive because of a positive COVID test ever again).
Mackenzie McDonald, ranked 194th, spent most of his court time in 2020 on the Challenger circuit. He’s been languishing a bit since a promising year in 2019. His best result in 2020 was a quarterfinal showing at the 250 event in Nur-Sultan, where he made the quarterfinals.
This will be the first meeting between McDonald and world No. 56 Querrey. Given McDonald’s form of late, the younger American will need to hope that his compatriot is still distracted by the COVID fugitive thing, otherwise this match might be over rather quickly.
Cheryl pick: Querrey in 2
Ricky pick: McDonald in 3
2021!
Here’s to a full Olympic-year season!
SWK in 2; Querry in 2.