Houston R2 previews and predictions: Paul vs. Kyrgios, Isner vs. Johnson

Nick Kyrgios is off to a winning start in his only clay-court tournament of the season and will meet Tommy Paul on Wednesday in Houston. John Isner and Steve Johnson are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.

(WC) Nick Kyrgios vs. (7) Tommy Paul

Kyrgios and Paul will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round two of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Wednesday. This will be the only clay-court event of the year for Kyrgios, who had not played on the surface since 2019 before beating Mackenzie McDonald 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. That is a decent result for the Aussie, but McDonald is also a clay-court novice.

The competition level will increase in the form of Paul, who is one of the better Americans on clay. Paul is in all-around great form at the moment, with a fourth-round appearance in Indian Wells (upset Alexander Zverev in the process) and a third-round effort in Miami (lost to Indian Wells winner Taylor Fritz). The world No. 34 should be able to withstand Kyrgios’ power on this surface and book his spot in the Houston quarterfinals.

Pick: Paul in 3

Steve Johnson vs. (4) John Isner

It will be an all-American affair when Isner and Johnson square off for the 11th time in their careers. Surprisingly, Johnson has won each of their last five matches to take a 6-4 lead in the head-to-head series. Three of those five have ended in final-set tiebreakers, including at the 2020 U.S. Open.

Neither player is in good form on the singles court. Although Isner won only one match combined in Indian Wells and Miami, he captured the Sunshine Double in doubles (Indian Wells with Jack Sock and Miami with Hubert Hurkacz). But that is unlikely to give the 36-year-old much confidence in singles as he makes the transition to clay. Whereas Isner got a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed, Johnson battled past Denis Kudla 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Given that Johnson already has a clay-court win under his belt while Isner is struggling, there is a good chance this results in an upset.

Pick: Johnson in 3