TENNIS: Preview of Weekend Event: Infosys Hall of Fame Open
The Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island is one of four ATP 250 events taking place this week. There is more than $650,000 in prize money up for grabs in the grass court tournament, which began with only one player ranked inside the top-25, Adrian Mannarino, the defending champion. One semi-final is set and the other will be decided on Friday afternoon. Here’s a look at the upcoming matches.
Earl Rounds Recap
Mannarino, as the top seed and defending champion, had a bye into the second round, but lost his match against Reilly Opelka, who is now into the semi-finals and has the second-shortest odds to win the tournament. Opelka beat Mannarino 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. He followed that up with a three-set win against MacKenzie McDonald to earn a spot in the semi-finals against fellow American Alex Michelsen.
Four players – two Americans and two Aussies – are vying for the final two spots in the semis. Aleksander Vukic, the sixth seed, has consecutive straight set wins as does qualifier Alex Bolt. Marcos Giron and Christopher Eubanks were the second and fourth seeds, respectively, and only had to win one match to get to the semis.
ATP Newport Outright Odds
Alex Michelsen +225
Reilly Opelka +333
Aleksander Vukic +400
Marcos Giron +400
Alex Bolt +700
Christopher Eubanks +700
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Quarter-Final Matches
Christopher Eubanks (+161) vs. Aleksander Vukic (-186)
It hasn’t been a great season for Eubanks, who notably surprised the tennis world last year with his unexpected quarter-final run at Wimbledon. He is just 6-17 this season, although he is 3-4 on grass courts. Still, Vukic is 5-2 in his career against Eubanks, 10-6 this season on grass, and has been the more consistent player this season. He also has consecutive straight-set victories and should be feeling good about his game ahead of Friday’s quarter-final.
Marcos Giron (-174) vs. Alex Bolt (+154)
It’s probably best to once again take the favorite in this matchup. Giron is a top-50 ranked player who is 2-1 in his career against Bolt, a player ranked well outside of the top-200. Giron is 17-18 this season, including 6-4 on grass, while Bolt is 40-14, including 21-3 on grass. Those stats are incredibly deceiving, however, as Bolt has primarily been playing in Challenger events. He has four finals appearances.
Semi-Final
Reilly Opelka (+115) vs. Alex Michelsen (-160)
Surprisingly, Opelka and Michelsen have never played each other. They’ll meet for the first time on Saturday in the semi-finals. Michelsen is an up-and-coming 19-year-old American who is 22-22 this season, while Opelka is a former top-20 player now ranked outside of the top-500 in large part due to injuries. He played just once last year and three matches this season. Interestingly, he has won each of those matches, including three on grass. He has a strong service game that could give Michelsen fits. I like Opelka in a slight upset here.
Finals Prediction
Assuming he wins his quarter-final, Vukic is a good bet to win the tournament. He has been the best player through his first two matches and is a strong grass court player.