After Taylor Fritz took the title in Atlanta, the U.S. Open Series ramps up with an ATP 500 in Washington. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Who do you think will win?
ATP Washington Day 2 Predictions
Grigor Dimitrov vs Mackenzie McDonald
Head-to-head: Dimitrov 1-1 McDonald
Dimitrov has won at least one match in five of his seven Washington appearances. The Bulgarian has a decent showing on grass, making the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club and fourth round at Wimbledon. McDonald, a finalist here in 2021, started off with a solid 6-3 6-3 win over Diego Schwartzman. He also won their most recent match at Miami last year, dominating 6-1 6-4, while Dimitrov won their first at the 2018 Australian Open 8-6 in the fifth set. This feels like a pretty even match but I believe Dimitrov will continue to win at least a round as he has done most years in Washington.
Aslan Karatsev vs Frances Tiafoe
Head-to-head: Tiafoe 1-0 Karatsev
Karatsev defeated qualifier Kiranpal Pannu 7-6 6-1 to kick off his Washington campaign, now setting up a Roland Garros second-round rematch with Tiafoe. The second seed was routined by Grigor Dimitrov in his last match, winning just seven games in the third round of Wimbledon. The American should regain his form on home hardcourts, reaching the quarterfinals in Washington last year.
Sebastian Korda vs Alexander Shevchenko
Head-to-head: Korda 1-0 Shevchenko
After facing off on the ITF tour back in 2019, Korda and Shevchenko now meet at a higher-level event. Korda, a quarterfinalist here last year, had a disappointing Wimbledon after a promising Queen’s Club semifinal run, crashing out to Jiri Vesely in the first round. Shevchenko, an almost-exclusively claycourt player last year has actually struggled to find his footing on the red dirt in the last couple of months while finding more success on hard in 2023. In the first round here, Shevchenko piled on the misery for a struggling Maxime Cressy. This should be a fun match but Korda should win out if he plays his regular level.
Lloyd Harris vs Kei Nisihikori
Head-to-head: Harris 1-1 Nishikori
A rematch of a 2021 Washington quarterfinal that Nishikori won in straight sets, avenging his Dubai loss to Harris from earlier that year. The 2015 Washington champion returned at the Palmas del Mar Challenger in June with a title after 20 months away, making his ATP-level return last week when he beat Jordan Thompson and Shang Juncheng before losing to the eventual champion Taylor Fritz in Atlanta. Harris made a comeback of his own after missing the second half of the 2022 season due to injury. The South African came through qualifying in Atlanta last week before beating James Duckworth. I expect a good contest with Nishikori coming out on top.
Prediction: Nishikori in 3
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