Dallas is welcoming back ATP tennis this week for the first time since 1983 with a 250 event hosted at the indoor tennis center on the grounds of Southern Methodist University. The tennis should feature a lot of success from big servers on the hard, indoor courts. Day one of the ATP Dallas Open features just two main draw matches, but as always we here at LWOT will be offering our preview and prediction for both matches.
ATP Dallas Day 1 Predictions
Kevin Anderson vs Sam Querrey
Head-to-head: Anderson 8-8 Querrey
Two veterans of the sport will open up the main draw week at the ATP Dallas Open as South African Kevin Anderson takes on American Sam Querrey. Though they have met 16 times on tour, this will be their first meeting since 2018. They split their two career indoor hard court matchups. Anderson, 35, and Querrey, 34, are both hard serving, big forehand players who favor the quick courts. They have very similar styles of play and have both experienced high-level success on tour, particularly Anderson.
That said, both men have had to deal with injury issues that have plagued the later portions of their careers. This one is tough to predict as both are coming off of straight-set losses to seeded opponents at the Australian Open. These two know each other very well and should use that knowledge to end points quickly. This one is a coin-flip with a 7-6 6-7 7-6 type of scoreline expected. But give the slight edge to Querrey on his home soil.
Prediction: Querrey in 3
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John Millman vs Brandon Nakashima (8)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Australian veteran John Millman has a tough task in round one against young American phenom Brandon Nakashima. Nakashima, the eighth seed in the draw, had a decent Australian summer, making the quarterfinals in Sydney and giving Matteo Berrettini just about all he could handle in the first round at the Australian Open, before succumbing in four sets. Millman, on the other hand, did pick up a first-round win at the Australian Open over Feliciano Lopez, but he has lost six of his last seven matches dating back to last year.
Nakashima is very consistent for a 20-year-old and has a powerful two-handed backhand that could cause Millman serious problems. Millman could make the young American work a bit, with the Australian one of the better movers on the men’s tour, but the eighth seed should be able to handle this in straight sets.
Prediction: Nakashima in 2
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