American upstart Brandon Nakashima will take on French veteran Adrian Mannarino, while countryman Marcos Giron battles John Millman. Quarterfinal spots will be handed out on Thursday in Delray Beach.
Brandon Nakashima vs. (7) Adrian Mannarino
Just a few weeks ago, Adrian Mannarino played one of the greatest tiebreaks in tennis history at the Australian Open. The Frenchman ticked off three upsets in a row, each more impressive than the last (James Duckworth, Hubert Hurkacz, and Aslan Karatsev, respectively) to earn his spot in the round of 16. He faced eventual champion Rafael Nadal. For a set, Mannarino gave Nadal all he could handle. The first-set ‘breaker was a battle of attrition. Nadal earned six set points and Mannarino four before the Spaniard finally prevailed 16-14.
Mannarino has had a pair of quarterfinal showings in his two tournaments since, and his ranking is up to No. 53 after starting the year at No. 71. He dispatched Liam Brody in the Delray Beach first round on Tuesday.
Brandon Nakashima is still finding his 2022 range. The American is 3-3 so far, including a first-round loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open. The American lost in the second round in Dallas last week to Aussie Jordan Thompson, but he shellacked Denis Kudla in his Delray opener.
Nakashima’s game works well on hard courts. Despite the loss, he played well against Berrettini in Melbourne and he is playing in front of the home crowd this week. Although Mannarino has had better results, a slight edge goes to the American in this one.
Cheryl pick: Nakashima in 3
Ricky pick: Nakashima in 2
John Millman vs. Marcos Giron
This will be the second meeting between John Millman and Marcos Giron. The two men played in Sofia last year, when Giron won in easy straight sets. Millman has seen his ranking slip to No. 91 in the world. The Aussie’s match record in 2022 is an anemic 2-4, but he upset Maxime Cressy in the first round earlier this week.
Giron had a good showing in Dallas last week. The American took out top seed and countryman Taylor Fritz before going down in the semifinals to Jenson Brooksby. Giron is decidedly playing better tennis at present, but given his deep run last week there is some danger of fatigue for the former UCLA standout.
Cheryl pick: Giron in 3
Ricky pick: Millman in 3
WWW?
Naka in 3; Giron in 3.