A trio of Americans will be in action on Tuesday in Houston. John Isner and Ryan Harrison are facing each other while Steve Johnson is making an upset bid against Fernando Verdasco.
(5) John Isner vs. Ryan Harrison
Isner and Harrison will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet in round one of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Tuesday night. Harrison took down an injured Isner 6-4, 6-4 three months ago in Sydney, but the big guy still leads the head-to-head series 2-1. He prevailed in straight sets in both Memphis in 2010 and in Newport in 2012.
Both Americans are struggling at the moment. Harrison peaked as high as 43rd in the world last year, but he is down at No. 93 in part due to a 4-8 record this season. He has lost in the first round of four events and has not advanced to a quarterfinal since Sydney. Isner missed the Australian Open due to knee issues and he has not yet kicked things into high gear at any point this year. The world No. 23 owns a 7-8 record and he is 1-3 since the start of Indian Wells.
Harrison has a legitimate chance of pulling off another upset, but he is not an accomplished clay-court player. Isner, on the other hand, established himself on the slow stuff by beating Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2012 and he is the only man to play a five-setter against Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
Pick: Isner in 3
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(WC) Steve Johnson vs. Fernando Verdasco
Ranked exactly 100 spots below his opponent at No. 130 in the world, Johnson has a much better shot in this one than the numbers indicate. The former NCAA star is in the early stages of his professional journey and he is up to a career-high ranking. Two of his five ATP-level wins have come this season, both en route to a quarterfinal berth in San Jose.
If Johnson has ideas for a victory, a lot of it has to do with his opponent. Verdasco is an awful 2-5 for his 2013 campaign, which includes losses of his opening match in San Jose, Indian Wells, and Miami. The 30th-ranked Spaniard has not won a match since the second round of the Australian Open.
Surface should be the deciding factor on Tuesday. Verdasco has enjoyed plenty of clay-court success throughout his career whereas Johnson has not played a professional clay-court match since a Futures event in 2010.
Pick: Verdasco in 3
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