The second round of the Delray Beach Open begins on Wednesday on what looks a decent little card down in Florida to continue the latest ATP 250 event as the build up towards the first Masters 1000 tournaments picks up pace.
We saw some high profile withdrawals and some big names lose in the first round of the competition, leaving the tournament looking a little wide open, which should ensure some competitive action on Wednesday and beyond.
Stadium Court
Soonwoo Kwon vs Ryan Harrison
After a doubles match the singles action gets underway with one of the home wildcards on the court when Ryan Harrison goes up against the Korean player Soonwoo Kwon for a place in the quarter final and potential to progress further.
Harrison had a good win as an outsider against Damir Dzumhur on Monday and will fancy his chances of going well here if he can repeat that performance but Kwon is in decent nick at the minute and after coming through a three-setter against Adrian Mannarino in the first round, he will be looking to push on and go deep in the event. The Korean is the favourite here which feels right so I’ll leave the opening game of the day alone.
Cameron Norrie vs Brandon Nakashima
The second match of the day session in the singles draw sees the British qualifier Cameron Norrie coming up against another of the American wildcards in Brandon Nakashima, with both men acutely aware of how their part of the draw has opened up after the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios.
Norrie had a fine win over Taylor Fritz in the first round on Tuesday, one which was unexpected given the displays he has produced of late, and now he will be out to show that was no fluke as he looks to progress his way out of a slump. Nakashima also had a good win in the opening round. He saw off the Pune champion Jiri Vesely in straight sets.
I think the American is the one to be with here. I say that for a couple of reasons. I really like the way he went against Vesely, and the longer that match went on the better he got which is encouraging. The other reason is that Norrie went three tough sets in a big hitting match with Fritz on Tuesday and won’t have had much time to recover for this one. I suspect that could be significant.
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Mackenzie McDonald vs Reilly Opelka
There is one singles match in the night session and it involves a couple of Americans who look to have a real chance of lifting a title on home soil this week as Mackenzie McDonald goes up against the big serving Reilly Opelka for a spot in the last eight.
McDonald had a straight sets win in the first round against the Japanese player Yasutaka Uchiyama while Opelka was taken the distance in a deciding set by Ernests Gulbis, coming from a set down to win a final set tiebreak in what was the match of the tournament so far. You would think that Opelka is a worthy favourite on that effort but I’m aware of his short recovery time, and this being at night might bring McDonald into play a little more. I’m not sure I can trust the outsider to deliver though so I’ll leave this one alone.
Court 1
Noah Rubin vs Yoshihito Nishioka
There is one match out on Court 1 on Wednesday and that sees another American, this time a qualifier, in action as Noah Rubin takes on a Yoshihito Nishioka who could be a dark horse for the title from this position in the draw.
Nishioka held his nerve well to come through against John Millman from a set down in the first round and if he progresses from there he should be a tough nut to crack. It is hard to judge Rubin in that his opponent, Jason Jung, called it a day in the second set of their match having picked up an injury. You wouldn’t say Rubin was completely convincing but there could be more to come from a man who obviously played well to qualify. This feels like a match to leave alone.
Tips
WON – Back B.Nakashima to beat C.Norrie for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
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