Dallas Open 2023 Day 4: Men's singles predictions ft. Taylor Fritz vs Jack Sock, John Isner vs Daniel Altmaier
Players are set to fight it out for the quarterfinal spots at the 2023 Dallas Open on Thursday. Denis Shapovalov was the biggest casualty of the tournament so far. The Canadian was sent packing on Wednesday evening as the third seed was upset by Yibing Wu in straight sets.
All other seeded players, however, remain in contention. Frances Tiafoe made light work of Mackenzie McDonald, securing a win in less than an hour.
Day 4 of the Dallas Open will see top seed Taylor Fritz take on fellow American Jack Sock, while hometown hero John Isner is up against Daniel Altmaier.
Here are the predictions for all the singles matches lined up for February 9:
#1 - (4) Miomir Kecmanovic vs Emilio Gomez
Miomir Kecmanovic has had a decent start to the season, including a quarterfinal finish at the Adelaide International 2. However, he crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open. As the fourth seed in Dallas, he received a first-round bye.
Emilio Gomez battled past lucky loser Gabriel Diallo in three sets in the previous round. He has never defeated a player ranked in the top 50 so far, or made it past the second round of an ATP event. This is likely to be an easy win for Kecmanovic.
Prediction: Miomir Kecmanovic to win in straight sets.
#2 - (8) Adrian Mannarino vs Jordan Thompson
Both players started their runs at the Dallas Open with straight-sets victories. While Adrian Mannarino defeated Steve Johnson, Jordan Thompson knocked out Denis Kudla. The Frenchman leads 3-1 in the head-to-head, but all of his wins have come on grass.
Thompson managed to win their only encounter played on hardcourts. Mannarino is in marginally better form at the moment, but it wouldn't be too surprising to see the Australian pull off an upset here.
Prediction: Adrian Mannarino to win in three sets.
#3 - (5) John Isner vs Daniel Altmaier
John Isner fired a whopping 22 aces during his first-round win over Chun-Hsin Tseng at the Dallas Open. While the American was stretched to a couple of tie-breaks, Daniel Altmaier had an easier time, winning 6-2, 6-4 against Zachary Svajda. For both players, it marked their first win of the year.
Altmaier has won a total of just 15 matches over the last three years. His record in 2022 was a dismal 5-21. Given the German's string of poor results, Isner will be the firm favorite to advance further.
Prediction: John Isner to win in straight sets.
#4 - (1) Taylor Fritz vs (WC) Jack Sock
Taylor Fritz started the season on a strong note as he led Team USA to the United Cup title. He was expected to make a deep run at the Australian Open, but suffered a tough five-set loss against Alexei Popyrin in the second round. Fritz received a bye into the second round at the Dallas Open.
Jack Sock needed three sets to get past Ilya Ivashka in the first round. He saved 15 of the 18 break points that he faced. The American has undergone a physical transformation in the off-season, losing a considerable amount of weight and working on his fitness.
Sock attributed his win over Ivashka to his new fitness regime as well. His rivalry with Fritz is a close one, who leads 3-2 in the head-to-head. Their last meeting also took place at last year's Dallas Open, with the World No. 8 winning in straight sets. The outcome is likely to be similar this time.
Prediction: Taylor Fritz to win in straight sets.
#5 - (7) Marcos Giron vs Oscar Otte
Marcos Giron and Oscar Otte emerged victorious following a three-set tussle, defeating Alex Rybakov and Christopher Eubanks respectively in the first round. While the American is gunning for his second quarterfinal of the year, the German is eyeing his first.
Otte's record on hardcourts last year was rather poor, going 6-18 and failing to win consecutive matches on the surface. His results were much better on grass and clay. Giron, on the other hand, does well on hardcourts compared to the German.
The American has the upper hand in this Dallas Open match-up. Otte is a tough player to handle at times, but Giron should be able to withstand the challenge from his opponent to emerge victorious.
Prediction: Marcos Giron to win in three sets.