The ATP’s Citi Open tournament heads into the third round of a six-round tournament. These are not the quarterfinals, then, they are the round of 16. That’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks.
We had a rough day on the card as we went 1-2 with our picks. We had Donald Young to spring an upset on Bernard Tomic, but that didn’t come to fruition as Young lost in straight sets. We also took a loss with Yen-Hsuin Lu, who failed to beat Gael Monfils. Monfils won rather commandingly as Lu was only able to win a total of five games. Our lone win on the day came from John Isner, who handled James Duckworth easily. Duckworth was only able to win seven games.
The tennis calendar is crowded this time of year. The Canada Masters 1000 event is right around the corner next week, and in some ways, losing early in this tournament can be a benefit, since players will be more rested for Canada, which offers more rankings points and money. It’s kind of a distraction to have a big tournament so close to this one, but players will have to play through that kind of challenge.
Alexander Zverev vs. Malek Jaziri
There is an up-and-down quality to Zverev’s tennis, which should be expected. He’s at the end of his teenage years, less than a year from turning 20 in 2017. He’s going to be erratic, and he’s going to learn plenty of lessons before he ripens into the kind of player who can win big on the tour. To take an example, Zverev grew up in Hamburg, Germany. Last week, Hamburg hosted its ATP 500 clay-court tournament. Zverev slept in his own bed in a place he loves and knows intimately. One would think that “home-city advantage” would have benefited Zverev, but instead he tumbled out of the tournament in the first round to Inigo Cervantes. Zverev clearly relaxed and was too comfortable for his own good. He did not focus. He did not compete as hard as he should have.
Zverev moved to Washington and won his first two matches, showing more of the energy and determination he lacked in Hamburg. Zverev very probably realized that he has to carry himself in a certain way every time he goes on court. This is the process of maturing and becoming a better professional. Zverev hated to lose in Hamburg – he would have loved to have won a title there – but he has to know that he learned something valuable in that loss to Cervantes. Now, he seems to be applying that lesson in Washington, D.C. That’s the kind of thing a bettor should not ignore. Zverev should be able to focus here, and if he does, he’s obviously a better player than Jaziri and should win. He’s the choice here for your tennis picks.
Pick: Zverev in three sets
Sam Querrey vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
This is a match in which Querrey has to be favored. The win over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon should still be used as a reason to pick Querrey in any match where he’s playing a player with relatively similar talent and credentials. If Querrey runs into an objectively tougher player, don’t pick him. Dolgopolov doesn’t quite rise to that kind of standard. Take Querrey with your tennis picks.
Pick: Querrey in straight sets
Borna Coric vs. Gael Monfils
This is a matchup in which Monfils is taking the court after a strong and easy win over Yen Hsun-Lu. That result might have been surprising in light of Monfils’ injury-riddled journey over the past three months. The easy win suggests that Monfils is healthy at the moment. If that is indeed the case, his lack of match play means he’s physically fresh, and should be able to play energetic tennis. In that case, he should be favored over the less experienced Coric, who has struggled for much of the 2016 season. Take Monfils with your tennis picks.
Pick: Monfils in three sets
