Newport SF previews and predictions: Isner vs. Fratangelo, Gojowyczk vs. Ebden

John Isner is a heavy title favorite as part of an otherwise surprising semifinal lineup in Newport. Isner will go up against Bjorn Fratangelo on Saturday, while Peter Gojowyczk is set to face Matthew Ebden.

(1) John Isner vs. Bjorn Fratangelo

It will be an all-American affair when Isner and Fratangelo go head-to-head for the first time in their careers during semifinal action at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open on Saturday. Isner is two wins away from a third title at this event and he is considerable favorite to get the job done given that the rest of the semifinal lineup features Fratangelo, Peter Gojowycz, and Matthew Ebden. The No. 1 seed has made routine work of his week so far, following up a first-round bye with straight-set routs of Sam Groth and Dennis Novikov.

Isner owns more lifetime wins in Newport (17) than Fratangelo has in his entire career at the ATP level (12). The world No. 142 is through to his first-ever ATP semifinal thanks to three-set defeats of Illya Marchenko, Akira Santillan, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Given his inexperience, the amount of time he has spent on court, and the steep step up in competition, this will likely be the end of the line for Fratangelo. Moreover, through two matches Isner 33 aces, four double-faults, and zero break points faced.

Pick: Isner in 2

[polldaddy poll=9793671]

(Q) Matthew Ebden vs. Peter Gojowycz

Gojowyczk and Ebden will also be squaring off for the first time in their careers on Saturday. With Gojowycz registering at 131st in the world and Ebden more than 100 spots behind at No. 249, Isner is the only semifinalist ranked in the top 130. Combined, the other three players still alive in Newport had previously reached one career ATP semifinal (Gojowyczk four years ago in Doha). The 28-year-old German once again finds himself playing on a weekend thanks to victories this week over Thain-Son Kwiatkowski, Konstantin Kravchuk, and Ivo Karlovic–the latter two in three sets, including against Karlovic in a third-set tiebreaker.

Ebden’s performance has come completely out of nowhere. Prior to his arrival in Newport, the 29-year-old Australian’s grass-court swing included two first-round losses in Challengers, a qualifying loss in a Challenger, and an opening-round loss in Antalya. Suddenly, though, Ebden is into the semis by virtue of ousting Rajeev Ram, Lukas Lacko, and Tobias Kamke–surrendering only one set to Kamke in the process. Even though this is another good opportunity for Ebden, Gojowyczk has some experience and he is battle-tested by his especially impressive grass-court upset of the second-seeded Karlovic.

Pick: Gojowyczk in 3

[polldaddy poll=9793674]