The ATP’s BB&T Atlanta Open tournament moves into second-round play and so do our tennis picks. We had a relatively successful day on the card on Tuesday as we went 2-1 with our tennis picks while losing one close showdown. Sergiy Stakhovsky was our selection against Tobias Kamke, but he ended up falling in straight sets. He pushed him, though, losing in tiebreakers both times. Our two wins came from Fernando Verdasco, who had no problem with Dusan Lajovic, and we also cashed with Taylor Fritz, who ousted Austin Smith rather easily. Smith was only able to win a total of four games.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, top-seeded John Isner and third-seeded Kevin Anderson, given first-round byes, begin their tournaments on this day. This is a relatively small tournament with 28 singles players. The second round is the round of 16. This is the first half of the round. The second half of the round of 16 is on Thursday, before the quarterfinals on Friday. Here are our tennis picks for the day.
Kevin Anderson vs. Reilly Opelka
There is not much to think about in this match. Opelka has received a wild card, generally an indicator of a player who is being given a break by the tournament organizers, either in the attempt to build a career from a modest foundation or to try to sell tickets to fans in a home country (or both). Opelka’s career resume is rather barren to this point in time. There’s no overly outstanding feature of his game, anything which should make a bettor pick him to beat Anderson.
A few weeks ago, it might have been reasonable to pick Opelka if only because Anderson faced a lot of questions surrounding the health of his game. Anderson’s tennis had suffered because his physical stability had fallen off the map in the first half of 2016. Anderson was repeatedly dogged by injuries. He simply couldn’t stay on the court after a very strong 2015 season. This was the same player who nearly beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2015, and who reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2015 U.S. Open. Suddenly, his ranking plummeted, as he shed points left and right. He tried to make multiple comebacks and repeatedly failed.
That all changed in Toronto.
Anderson made the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 event before losing to second-seeded Stan Wawrinka. Anderson finally began to look like the decisive, authoritative player who had made such big strides years before. This might have been a tough match to handicap a month ago, but not now. Anderson is the easy call.
Pick: Anderson in straight sets
Donald Young vs. Tim Smyczek
This should be an interesting match. Smyczek is not without talent. He hustles and can come up with short bursts of high-quality tennis. He can be a nuisance, in the most positive sense of that term. Young is a more talented player, but he comes and goes in various tournaments. He will have a good event every now and then, but he has struggled to make himself a regularly productive member of the ATP Tour. It’s understandable to want to pick Smyczek, because he hasn’t wasted as much talent as Young, but that’s the point: Young is indeed a more powerful and gifted player. It’s ultimately unwise to bet against him. Take Young with your tennis picks.
Pick: Young in three sets
John Isner vs. Adrian Mannarino
This is a matchup in which Isner, the man who has won this Atlanta tournament more than any other man, will be playing in front of a vocal and supportive home crowd. Isner went to the University of Georgia and therefore is viewed as a Bulldog, one of the people in Atlanta. Isner is from North Carolina, but his open love for his alma mater has endeared him to the populace at this tournament, which matters a lot to him. Mannarino is not without talent, but he’s not in the same class as Isner. This is a clear call: Big John with your tennis picks in this one.
Pick: Isner in straight sets
