World no. 32, and one of Argentina’s tennis prides, Juan Martin Del Potro, advanced after cruising past Lucas Lacko in the Round of 32s, 7-5, 6-2. Del Potro looked comfortable throughout the match and was able to blast 15 aces.
A controlling win like that is sure add to his confidence for the higher-ranked and more-hyped Kei Nishikori, but it’s not like he needs some. The Argentine has been fairly dominant in their career head-to-head, as he has come out on top in five of the six meetings, with all of the victories coming via straight sets.
Del Potro will only be entering his 23rd match of the year, but make no mistake about it, he’s already a wily veteran of the game. He’s 249-101 all-time on hard courts and has 15 titles on such a surface.
The ninth-ranked Kei Nishikori ran into more trouble than he anticipated on Tuesday. He was unable to make the win over Donald Young as convincing he should have, as he only won, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5).
Still, a win is a win, and if he’s got Juan Martin Del Potro next, who, as mentioned, had beaten him in almost all of their career matches, it’s always nice to come off a victory.
Nishikori will have the momentum of his win against Young (as minimal it is), the good season he’s been having (28-11 overall), and that one good W over Del Potro during last year’s Swiss Indoors, which was on a hard surface, as inspiration to earn that rare win.
Title-wise, Nishikori is not that far from his longtime opponent, as he himself has nine championships on a hard court. Also, he’s 43-14 on such courts since last year.
Writer’s Prediction
Del Potro (-135) will stay dominant against Nishikori.
