Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey have headed south of the border to begin their summer hard-court swings in Los Cabos. They are going up against Evgeny Donskoy and Brandon Nakashima, respectively, on Wednesday.
Evgeny Donskoy vs. (2) John Isner
Isner and Donskoy will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the first time in more than eight years when they clash in round two of the Mifel Open on Wednesday. Their only previous meetings came in the span of a couple of weeks during the summer of 2013, when Donskoy prevailed 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch before Isner cruised 6-1, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) at Wimbledon.
Both players are past their primes and have played sparingly in recent seasons. In fact, Donskoy had not won a single tour-level match prior to this week–part of the reason why he is ranked 157th in the world. The 31-year-old Russian beat Jason Jung 6-1, 6-4 on Monday, but Isner obviously represents a steep step up in competition. Although the 36-year-old American is not in great form at the moment, conditions in Los Cabos should be perfect for his game.
Pick: Isner in 2
Brandon Nakashima vs. (4) Sam Querrey
Unsurprisingly, Querrey heated up on grass earlier this summer. The 70th-ranked American won eight matches on that surface, having previously won just a single tour-level match in 2021. By no means did Querrey anything particularly brilliant, but it does give him at least some momentum heading into the hard-court swing.
Up first for the 33-year-old is Nakashima, whom he has never faced. At the other end of the career spectrum, the 19-year-old American has captured one Challenger title this season and successfully qualified at Wimbledon. He earned his first main-tour victory of 2021 on Monday, holding off fellow former college star J.J. Wolf 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2. This is a winnable match for Nakahima, but if Querrey serves well in these conditions that should make the difference for the veteran.
Pick: Querrey in 3
WWW?
the Big Dawg in straight….Querry in 3.