The Memphis Open, an ATP tournament for over 40 years, had to be relocated to New York because of a lack of sponsorships. The tournament organizers took full advantage of a new tournament being formed. The trademark blue court with a green overlay was replaced with a black court. The tournament had to rally for the color and is the first ATP tournament to feature such color.

Kevin Anderson leads the draw, but with the return of Kei Nishikori, it’ll be imperative to see whether he performs well.

The Usual Suspects

Four players with huge serves grace the draw — Kevin Anderson, Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Ivo Karlovic. The indoor hard courts will favor their serves since indoor hard courts are a relatively fast surface. All four players have had a disappointing start to the season, with Kevin Anderson being the only player to have made a final this year. Ivo Karlovic is coming to New York after having played in the slow clay of Ecuador. It’ll be interesting to see how he transitions into the fast surface.

The Underdogs

While Kei Nishikori is a big name in the draw, his lack of match play since August 2017 puts him firmly in this category. He won a Challenger in Dallas against Mackenzie McDonald a week ago. This came after his first-round loss in a Challenger in Newport Beach. He seems to be playing well, even if his game is a little passive; it is only expected that his game will improve with time after a long break from the sport.

ATP’s “Next Generation” of players from the United States are in the draw, with Frances Tiafoe in the first half of the first half of the draw. Noah Rubin, while not technically from the Next Gen, is a young player with sizeable talent. He’ll be looking to make his first dent in an ATP tournament. Last year’s Next Gen contestant Jared Donaldson is also in the draw.

Other players include Adrian Mannarino, forever deemed to be an underdog despite his excellent touch with the ball and elegant and effortless style of play. There is also 2017 Memphis Open defending champion Ryan Harrison, coming off a good start to the season with a final in Brisbane.

First Round matches to watch

Frances Tiafoe takes on compatriot and wild card Sebastian Korda. You read it right! That’s Korda: Petr Korda’s son, who’s 17 and just recently won the Junior Australian Open. He has a game similar to Tomas Berdych: Clean striking tennis, with an all-around, all surface game with a slight advantage in slower surfaces. He will consolidate his Junior Slam by winning against Frances Tiafoe and maybe even go further in the tournament — look at what happened with Denis Shapovalov.

Noah Rubin vs Kei Nishikori

Rubin, who won a Challenger in the first week of 2018, said he’s in the best shape he’s ever been in. It’ll be a battle for the both of them: For Rubin, it’ll be to finally stamp his place in the tour, and for Kei to stamp his comeback. Expect a tight match.

Ryan Harrison vs Donald Young

Both players were once deemed to be the future of American tennis. While that never materialized, Harrison has had a good couple of years and Young has had a few good runs here and there. Both are very short tempered, so expect a fiery match and a racquet smash or two.

Interesting Fact!

Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, the venue of the tournament, did not have a tennis stadium until the conception of the tournament, with the venue being primarily used for hockey, concerts, and basketball.

Prediction

I expect either Kei Nishikori or Kevin Anderson to make a deep run into the tournament. With virtually no pressure on the Japanese star, he will have nothing to lose in his campaign back to the top.

What do you think? Will Nishikori consolidate his comeback? Let us know in the comments below!