Top seed Cristian Garin will take on qualifier Christian Harrison for a spot in the Delray Beach quarterfinals on Saturday. Americans Tommy Paul and Sebastian Korda will also be in action.
(1) Cristian Garin vs. (Q) Christian Harrison
Current ranking would suggest that this will be a one-sided affair. Cristian Garin is ranked 22nd in the world and holds the top seed this week. Christian Harrison is ranked 789th, better known for his part in the all-Harrison doubles team with brother Ryan than for his singles prowess. Before his first round win over Tomas Etcheverry, the American last won an ATP level main draw match back in 2018 on the grass courts of Newport.
Garin didn’t have a fantastic 2020 season at the slams, but he snagged a pair of tour title wins on the South American clay in Cordoba and Rio. And while he’s better on the dirt than he is on hard courts, it’s hard to imagine that he will have difficulty with Harrison.
Cheryl pick: Garin in 2
Ricky pick: Garin in 3
Sebastian Korda vs. (5) Tommy Paul
No. 5 seed Tommy Paul will take on fellow American Sebastian Korda in the Delray second round. Paul had a good start to the 2020 season with a semifinal showing in Adelaide and a quarterfinal appearance in Acapulco, but he faltered a bit when the tour restarted after the COVID layoff.
World No. 119 Korda came out of nowhere at the French Open. The young American, who enjoyed success on the Challenger circuit in 2020, won the first three tour-level matches of his career at Roland Garros–after he won three qualifier matches to gain entry in the main draw.
Korda added a fourth win to his record in his straight set win over Soonwoo Kwon in the first round on Thursday, but he was patchy–nearly squandering a 4-0 lead in the first set before finally holding on for 6-4. If he goes into Saturday’s match against Paul with the same form he showed against Kwon, Korda will be making an early exit.
Cheryl pick: Paul in 2
Ricky pick: Korda in 3
WWW?
Garin in 2; Paul in 3.
korda in 3!
Just got Berretinni 2-0 and Chardy 2-1 but was too aggressive with the limit price on Betfair and they didn’t get matched.
A perfect start to the year with predictions but a scratchy start with betting execution.
Blind tailed your Korda in 3 pick. WD.