Kei Nishikori will begin his bid for a fourth consecutive Memphis title when he takes the court against Ryan Harrison on Wednesday. In Buenos Aires, meanwhile, John Isner is contesting his opener against Dusan Lajovic.
Memphis Open: (1) Kei Nishikori vs. Ryan Harrison
Nishikori and Harrison will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the second consecutive year in round two of the Memphis Open when they meet again on Wednesday. At the same stage of this same event last season, Nishikori overcame Harrison 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 en route to a third consecutive title. They faced each other one moth later at the Indian Wells Masters, where Nishikori improved to his current mark of 2-0 against Harrison with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The 124th-ranked American just barely managed to give himself another shot at his heavily-favored opponent. In a showdown against 18-year-old compatriot Frances Tiafoe on Monday night, Harrison saved one match point before prevailing 6-7(0), 7-6(8), 6-4. It was a much-needed win for Harrison, who had compiled a 1-2 record at two previous Challenger stops. Nishikori is a decent 5-2 for his 2016 campaign with quarterfinal performances in Brisbane and at the Australian Open. The world No. 7 is 13-1 lifetime in the Memphis main draw, having lost only to Marcos Baghdatis in the 2009 opening round. Â Nishikori is too good in general and certainly too good in Memphis to be seriously challenged by Harrison–or by anyone else in this field.
Pick:Â Nishikori in 2
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Argentina Open:Â (4) John Isner vs. Dusan Lajovic
Isner is making a rare appearance on the Golden Swing, adding to an impressive Buenos Aires draw that also features Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The decision is a curious one only because Isner likes spending as much time as possible at home in the United States–not because of the surface in question. An underrated performer on clay, the world No. 12 is averse to grass and nothing else. Among his clay-court exploits is a five-setter against Rafael Nadal in the 2011 French Open first round and a 2012 Davis Cup upset of Roger Federer on the road in Switzerland. Isner is coming off a fourth-round performance at the Australian Open.
A second career meeting with Lajovic awaits the fourth seed on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came last spring on the dirt in Nice, where Isner prevailed 7-6(3), 6-4. Lajovic faced lucky loser Facundo Arguello on Tuesday and got the job done 7-6(7), 6-3. It was the 79th-ranked Serb’s first main-draw win of 2016, not including retirements. This should be straightforward for Isner, with one tiebreaker at most.
Pick:Â Isner in 2
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who ya got?
Big john and kei to cruise in straights.
Yes, I agree with Isner and Nishi in straight sets.
agreed
same
Not quite sure where to ask this question, but what is going on with the Bryans??? They can’t win a match! This is some slump!
They getting old close to 40yrs
Rio Olympics will be the end
Have to give Kei time to shake off some rust. Kei in three.
Isner in two.
Isner is going to cost me a lot of money again. I can’t believe this guy losing to a challenger level player.
He won’t
I dunno man. Isner AND Thiem struggling heading into quarters. I’m thinking Isner takes this last set in a breaker but boy has he had to work today. Also how many MPs did Elias have on Thiem. That would’ve been great for big john if Elias had won. Also would’ve been huge for Elias. Good grind from Thiem in the end.
I only watched up to the first set tb and then watched something else. I guess I should have checked back a few times to see what was happening.
Isner losing to Lajovic? Just wow! Now it’s Lajovic and Thiem.
That was a tight loss for Isner. Scorewise and nervewise. Aka that last volley he hit #tight
Lajovic did hit some great shots at the end though. Did they say Isner was serving for the first? Either way big John shoulda gone to Memphis lol.
I’m black listing isner this donkey chokes in these small tournaments too many times o put a big bet on him
#Isntner
Isner is not reliable except at the 1000 level in the United States. Under any other circumstances, he is as big of a risk as his height.
LOL! I guess so!