Second-round action in Washington, D.C. wraps up on Wednesday, when seeds Andy Murray and Ugo Humbert get their campaigns underway. Murray awaits Brandon Nakashima, while Humbert opens against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Brandon Nakashima vs. (15) Andy Murray
Murray and Nakashima will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the first time at the ATP level when they clash in round two of the Citi Open on Wednesday. Their only previous meeting came last year on the grass courts of the Surbiton Challenger, where Murray prevailed 6-4, 7-6(1).
That result is no surprise given Murray’s grass-court prowess; in fact, Surbiton was one of the two grass-court Challenger titles captured by the Scot this summer. A hard court in the United States should give Nakashima a better chance, but the 21-year-old American is not in great form. He is just 9-13 on the main tour this season following a 7-6(5), 7-6(9) victory over Atlanta runner-up Aleksandar Vukic on Tuesday. A well-rested Murray will likely be too tough for Nakashima.
Pick: Murray in 2
(13) Ugo Humbert vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
This is already the second hard-court tournament of the summer for Humbert and Kokkinakis, as both guys took the court last week in Atlanta. It was a productive tour stop of each player; Humbert upset Alex de Minaur en route to the semifinals, while Kokkinakis outlasted Gael Monfils in a third-set tiebreaker before losing to De Minaur 6-3, 6-4.
Kokkinakis has already advanced one round this week, opening with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Taro Daniel. Ranked 50 spots better than the Aussie at No. 36 in the world, Humbert doesn’t have a match under his belt in Washington, D.C. but that shouldn’t be a problem given that he played three matches in Atlanta. The Frenchman should be motivated to climb a few sports higher in the rankings, too, and thus get seeded for the U.S. Open. This could go either way, but an inspired an in-form Humbert will likely have a slight edge.
Pick: Humbert in 3
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