Washington R2 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Sock, Sinner vs. Ruusuvuori

Rafael Nadal is back for the first time since missing Wimbledon and the Olympics. He will take on American Jack Sock in the Washington, D.C. second round on Wednesday, while Jannik Sinner battles young Finnish star Emil Ruusuvuori.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Jack Sock

Citi Open top seed Rafael Nadal will kick off his summer hard-court swing against the struggling American Jack Sock. Nadal has had a relatively disappointing 2021 season. Alhough the Spaniard hasn’t endured a single early-round loss this year, he failed to capture the French Open–losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

He should be able to ease into the tournament. Sock has struggled mightily in 2021. He is ranked 192nd in the world and spends much of his season on the Challenger circuit. Sock has won 2 tour-level matches this season. He also has a 0-5 record against Nadal and they haven’t played since Sock’s best year in 2017.

Cheryl pick: Nadal in 2

Ricky pick: Nadal in 2

(5) Jannik Sinner vs. Emil Ruusuvuori

Of these two players, it’s actually Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori who is in better form right now. The world No. 69 comes into Washington off an impressive semifinal showing in Atlanta. By contrast, Jannik Sinner is 0-3 since he made the round of 16 at the French Open–including his first match in Atlanta, where he lost to Christopher O’Connell.

Sinner may have gained some confidence in Atlanta anyway, as he won the doubles title with Reilly Opelka and he was still able to get some match play. Still, with the way Ruusuvuori is playing, this is a tough opener for the Italian world No. 24.

Sinner is a talented enough player that he will almost certainly right the ship in short order. He should be more competitive than he was in his singles campaign in Atlanta, but with Ruusuvuori playing the best tennis of his career it might not be enough for the fifth seed.

Cheryl pick: Ruusuvuori in 3

Ricky pick: Ruusuvuori in 3