Ever since winning his seventh career singles title at Bucharest, Fernando Verdasco seems to have lost his way. He’s fallen out of the picture in his last four tournaments, the most recent being an opening-round exit at the hands of Bernard Tomic in Wimbledon 2016. However, there’s a reason to be pretty optimistic about the Spaniard’s chances in Atlanta this week.
Verdasco, a former top 10 player, has bagged victories against much-stronger foes like Stan Wawrinka (at Queen’s) and Rafael Nadal (at Melbourne) this season. The match versus the former proved to be the most impressive one, as the 32-year-old veteran wasted no time in finishing off his Swiss opponent after two sets, 6-2, 7-6(3).
Verdasco is a -450 favorite to beat his opening-round opponent Dusan Lajovik.
Alexandr Dolgopolov
Alexander Dolgopolov can definitely relate to Verdasco’s recent struggles. The 27-year-old Ukrainian has had poor showings in his previous three events, which includes a first-round exit against Donald Young in the Canadian Masters last week.
But there’s a relatively good chance that Dologopolov can relocate his groove in Atlanta, as he usually thrives on hard courts. This season, the World No. 38 has won nine of his 16 matches on that particular surface. And that stretch includes wins versus respectable opponents like David Ferrer and Steve Johnson.
Adrian Mannarino
Adrian Mannarino is also an intriguing sleeper to watch out for. He’s had a relatively solid year thus far, winning 22 of his first 40 games. During that stretch, the 28-year-old Frenchman notched his 11th career ATP Challenger Tour title at Noumea, made four quarterfinal appearances and a lone semifinals finish at Nice, where he lost to one of tennis’ upcoming superstars in Dominic Thiem.
Having all that said, it would be safe to say that Mannarino should be able to compete fairly well against any opponent in Atlanta this week. In fact, it wouldn’t be wishful thinking to expect him to finish deep in the tournament itself.
There you have them—the best sleepers heading into the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open. Create a betting account now and get in on all of the upcoming action.
