Fellow on-the-rise Americans Jack Sock and Steve Johnson will aim for quarterfinal spots on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Standing in their ways are respective tests with Richard Gasquet and Grigor Dimitrov.
(4) Richard Gasquet vs. (15) Jack Sock
Gasquet and Sock will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Citi Open on Thursday. It has been good year overall but an unproductive summer for Sock, who lost his opening matches at Wimbledon and in Atlanta in addition to a semifinal ouster at the hands of Ivo Karlovic in Newport. The American has also been struggling in doubles with Vasek Pospisil–they lost in the first round this week to Grigor Dimitrov and Mardy Fish. But Sock did not have too much trouble in his singles opener, as he got past Ruben Bemelmans 7-6(7), 6-3 on Tuesday.
Whereas the 22-year-old has enjoyed a full day off, Gasquet has to make a quick turnaround after holding off Gilles Muller 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a Wednesday night match that ended after 1:00 a.m. The 13th-ranked Frenchman did extremely well in his first match since the Wimbledon semifinals to overcome a confident opponent who had just reached the Atlanta semis. Gasquet is an outstanding 27-9 on the year. The No. 4 seed generally fares well against hard-hitting opponents, often using their pace against them–like he did against Muller. Look for Gasquet to play his way into too many backhand-to-backhand rallies for Sock’s liking.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
Steve Johnson vs. (6) Grigor Dimitrov
Washington, D.C. is quickly becoming one of Johnson’s favorite tournaments. The 55th-ranked American won three matches last summer–including two in third-set tiebreakers (over John Isner and Ivo Karlovic)–en route to the quarterfinals. So far this week he has taken out Lukas Lacko and Bernard Tomic. An in-form Johnson owns 23 ATP-level match victories this season.
Up next for the former University of Southern California standout is a second career meeting with Dimitrov. Their only previous encounter came this year at Wimbledon, where the Bulgarian prevailed 7-6(8), 6-2, 7-6(2). Dimitrov is in the midst of a mostly disappointing 2015 campaign that has also seen him split from coach Roger Rasheed and girlfriend Maria Sharapova. But the world No. 16 is 2-0 overall in matches in Washington, D.C., with a doubles victory partnering Mardy Fish and a 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over Guido Pella. This is a dangerous matchup for Dimitrov, but he seems inspired this week and his defensive skills will likely force Johnson to hit just a few too many backhands.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
