Second-round action in Washington, D.C. will get underway on Tuesday, when Grigor Dimitrov kicks off his campaign against Daniel Evans. Steve Johnson and Adrian Mannarino are also aiming for a place in the last 16.
(12) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Daniel Evans
Dimitrov and Evans will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the first time in more than five years when they clash in round two of the Citi Open on Tuesday. Their only previous meeting came on the grass courts of Eastbourne in 2011, when Dimitrov got the job done 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. The 25-year-old Bulgarian peaked as high as No. 8 in the world in 2014, but he has failed to live up to the hype and is currently wallowing at 40th in the rankings. Dimitrov is just 20-15 at the ATP level this season, including a 2-7 record in his last nine matches dating back to the Istanbul final on May 1.
Evans dominated his opener on Monday, thrashing Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-1 in 49 minutes. Like Dimitrov, the 82nd-ranked Brit also picked up some momentum by reaching the Wimbledon third round (Dimitrov lost to Steve Johnson in four sets; Evans fell to Roger Federer in straights). That doubled his ATP-level win count for the 2016 campaign from two to four. As those numbers suggest, Evans has been a Challenger circuit player for much of his career and this season has been no exception. Dimitrov certainly is not at his best these days, but the 12th seed still represents a steep step up from Evans’ standard competition level.
Pick: Dimitrov in 2
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Adrian Mannarino vs. (5) Steve Johnson
Johnson and Mannarino will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the second time this summer when they collide again on Tuesday night. They just faced each other on the grass courts of Queen’s Club, where Johnson prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The head-to-head series now stands at one win apiece, as Mannarino had previously scored a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 victory at the 2014 Australian Open.
Mannarino’s stellar grass-court swing also featured quarterfinal performances in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Newport, a third-round showing in Nottingham, and a high-quality loss in the last 64 at Wimbledon to Novak Djokovic. The 55th-ranked Frenchman maintained his fine form by scraping past Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 7-5 on Monday. Johnson did not look particularly motivated in a Newport quarterfinal setback at the hands of Donald Young, but he still has to be riding a ton of confidence. The 25th-ranked American captured his first ATP title on the lawn on Nottingham and then reached the fourth round at the All-England Club (lost to Federer). If Johnson is unafraid to attack Mannarino’s weak second serve, the No. 5 seed should be able to dictate play from start to finish and begin his hard-court swing with a bang.
Pick: Johnson in 2
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Dimitrov and Johnson in three
I like Dtov in 2 and Johnson in 3….hope the Americans in DC can do better than Kudla and Smycek did yesterday!!!!
Dimitrov and johnson in three
Not very surprisingly, Evans boots Dimitrov out of the tourney. Evans is on fire lately. Dimitrov the complete opposite lol. When Evans came from nowhere and smoked Nishikori at 2013 U.S. Open but did nothing for the next year I was thinking he was just a guy with skill but he’s really put it together by cracking top 100 with the help of good challenger results over the past few seasons and is now really playing well. He’s close to the career high he achieved right after his round three run at Wimby and will hit a career high rank of about 70 if he beats Sock or Lacko next.
Dimitrov is the biggest waste of talent on the mens tour.