The ATP Atlanta Open heats up literally and figuratively, with three seeds in action on Day 4 battling for a spot in the quarterfinals. Five Americans will play in front of a hometown crowd, including local college standout Andres Martin and recent NCAA champion Ben Shelton. John Isner has dominated Atlanta with six career titles of his own and will be looking to capture those seven, while in the afternoon there will be an American showdown between Jenson Brooksby and Mackenzie McDonald. #3 seed Alex de Minaur will also be in action in what is sure to be a physical and entertaining match. Matches for all four days are predicted below with the rest of the quarter-finals to be set at the end of the day!
ATP Atlanta Open Day 4 Predictions
Alex de Minaur vs. James Duckworth
Head to head: First date
Duckworth is looking to build on a good grass season after a poor start to the year. De Minaur is playing her first hard court match since the summer, looking to build on his strong start and the fourth round at the Australian Open. The heat in Atlanta will put fitness on the line, an area in which De Minaur is one of the best on tour. The compatriots will meet for the first time as their careers go on different trajectories. De Minaur has been a staple on tour and looks to be a big part of the future, while Duckworth is a veteran looking to be nearing the end of his career. De Minaur is more talented and fitter and should have no problem winning the match easily.
Prediction: De Minaur in 2
Jenson Brooksby vs. Mackenzie McDonald
Head to head: First date
Brooksby will be delighted to be back on the hard courts, where he has had much success in his young career. He burst onto the radar of many tennis fans with an impressive fourth-round appearance at last year’s US Open, which he followed up with back-to-back fourth-round finishes in Indian Wells and Miami this year. McDonald has had decent results all year, but has struggled to beat high-caliber players. Brooksby is certainly proving to be one and will be looking to beat McDonald in a match that is sure to feature plenty of long rallies. Brooksby will use his baseline play to crush McDonald and wear him down over the course of the game. McDonald will get a set, but Brooksby will walk away in the third and win convincingly.
Adrian Mannarino vs Andres Martin
Head to head: First date
Martin is a local player at Georgia Tech making his first appearance at the ATP level. He looked great in the first round in a dominant victory over the talented Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis. Mannarino has had a very poor year by his standards, but he will be happy to return to hard courts, the only surface he has a winning record on in 2022. Mannarino has looked inconsistent recently, but will have a favorable matchup here. College players tend to struggle at this level and Martin faces a tough matchup here. Mannarino is generally a solid player who makes limited mistakes and forces his opponents to beat him. Martin will have to play at an extremely high level to do that, but Mannarino will be too solid and will use his experience to control the match and get the win.
Prediction: Mannarino at 2
John Isner vs. Ben Shelton
Head to head: First date
Isner looks to defend his Atlanta title in a tournament he has contested six times, including last year. Shelton has played well on the Challenger Tour this year after winning the NCAA Championship at the University of Florida. He is an exciting talent and played very well in his straight set win over Ramkumar Ramanathan in the first round. Isner has been tough to beat in Atlanta and on hard courts in general. While he has shown more vulnerability this year, Shelton will face a serve he has never seen before. While Shelton is talented and will be able to go all out as an underdog, Isner’s skills and experience will win out and he will continue his dominance in Atlanta.
Prediction: Isner at 2
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