Adrian Mannarino will contest his seventh all-lefty matchup of the season when he goes up against Donald Young on Monday in Memphis. Fellow American wild cards Jared Donaldson and Stefan Kozlov are also in action.
(8) Adrian Mannarino vs. Donald Young
Mannarino finished runner-up in Auckland, but it has been slow going for him ever since reaching the final as he heads into first-round action at the Memphis Open on Monday. The 40th-ranked Frenchman got crushed by Jiri Vesely in the title match, retired in the Australian Open second round against Feliciano Lopez, and lost his Zagreb opener to Igor Sijsling.
While Mannarino made a long trans-Atlantic trek, Young is playing not far from his hometown of Atlanta. The 67th-ranked American is a decent 3-2 for the year with a quarterfinal showing in Auckland and a second-round appearance in Melbourne (lost to Milos Raonic). The only previous meeting between these two left-handers came back in 2009 Cincinnati qualifying, with Mannarino prevailing 6-4, 7-6(6). That result means nothing now, but a lot of rest and an opponent who is no longer as confident as he was a few weeks ago could mean plenty for Young.
Pick: Young in 3
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(WC) Jared Donaldson vs. (WC) Stefan Kozlov
Donaldson and Kozlov will be going head-to-head for the first time in their professional careers when they collide on Monday night. The up-and-coming Americans, who obviously needed wild cards to get into the main draw, won the Maui Challenger doubles title together earlier this month. It was an incredible week for Donaldson, who also triumphed in singles and is up to No. 180 in the world–two spots off his career-high ranking.
Both teenagers are 0-2 lifetime at the ATP level. Donaldson lost 7-5 in the third set to Rajeev Ram last summer in Washington, D.C. before bowing out in straights to Gael Monfils at the U.S. Open. Kozlov fell to Michal Przysiezny at the 2013 Newport event and went down against Martin Klizan last fall in Valencia. A little more than a year older than his opponent, Donaldson has a bigger game right now in addition to slightly more experience. If he can keep his head on straight in what will be a pressure-packed situation, he should get the job done.
Pick: Donaldson in 3
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