Going into Round 3 of the ATP Citi Open in Washington, the matchups are really starting to look tasty. A few upsets have shaken up the draw, and a lot of big names and some hometown favorites are still in it, and it looks like anyone’s tournament. Will Nick Kyrgios lift the trophy a second time? Will Taylor Fritz or Reilly Opelka power their way through on home court? As always, we give our predictions for Day 4.
ATP Washington Day 4 Predictions
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Head-to-head: Khachanov 2-0
Nishioka is a big underdog here in every category, but he has complicated the pick by having an excellent start to the tournament. He has beaten both players from the Atlanta final that was played just a few days ago, first Jenson Brooksby and then tournament champion Alex de Minaur. That’s an impressive pair for a player ranked almost outside the top 100. Khachanov is a tough test, too, having compiled 25 wins on the season so far, owning both H2H wins, and generally being the better hard court player. This has to be called in favor of the big-hitting Russian, but Nishioka’s level is high at the moment, and he may be able to steal a set.
Prediction: Khachanov in 3
Taylor Fritz vs Dan Evans
Head-to-head: Fritz 1-0
Taylor Fritz keeps rolling, easing past Alexei Popyrin in two to boost his hard court record on the year to 17-5. He’s not a player anyone wants to face right now, especially not on hard court. Dan Evans had a light matchup in Kyle Edmund in Round 2 after a bye, his compatriot just returning from a long, long injury layoff. Evans is not a bad hard-courter, but Fritz is in form, and if Evans has any advantage here, it might be that Fritz is looking toward the latter rounds of the tournament and may underestimate him.
Prediction: Fritz in 2
Grigor Dimitrov vs Sebastian Korda
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should be a good match. Dimitrov and Korda have almost identical records this year, both overall (19-13 and 19-14) and on hard court (8-6 to 10-6). They are also within four percentage points of each other in their win percentage on hard, although Dimitrov has collected six titles and loads of experience, while Korda is still looking for his first. The American is just getting his feet back under him after a month layoff for injury, with a good win over Sebastian Baez. Dimitrov has been mediocre of late, and this one is too hard to call. I’ll give it to Korda because I think he will be the more motivated.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Andrey Rublev vs Maxime Cressy
Head-to-head: first meeting
Rublev is becoming a hard court maestro, and he is surely glad to be back on the surface. He started off the year extremely hot, and has since cooled, but it wasn’t the fault of any hard courts, where he holds a 19-4 record this year. But does anyone want to see Maxime Cressy in their draw? Cressy is coming off a title and a final on grass recently, and currently sits at a career high of #32. It’s hard to know how anyone will respond to Cressy’s style, but I think Rublev will handle it well enough. I really want to pick Cressy here, but I think Rublev is too solid and will be able to hit enough passing shots to get the job done.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
