Damien Kayat previews Adrian Mannarino vs Jordan Thompson and Ugo Humbert vs Kevin Anderson in selected quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame Open, on the 20th of July 2023.
2023 ATP Tour
Hall of Fame Open
International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, Rhode Island (Outdoor Grass)
Selected Quarterfinals — 20th July
Adrian Mannarino 5/4 | Jordan Thompson 62/100
This should be a fascinating clash between two avowed grass-court specialists. 35-year-old Frenchman Adrian Mannarino is a throwback to another age, not relying on power and utilizing a variety of slice and cunning to his advantage.
He has reached an impressive four grass-court finals throughout his career (winning the 2019 Rosmalen event). And he has once again showcased his grass-court acumen with a string of impressive results this year. It has been all the more impressive as he came into the grass-court swing in pretty dismal form.
But he reached back-to-back quarterfinals at Rosmalen and Queens. He then reached his 4th grass-court final in Mallorca (going down to eventual Wimbledon quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks in the championship match).
He was competitive in defeat to Medvedev at Wimbledon and he just breezed past Hjikata in his first match. Mannarino is a sly operator who tends to thrive in these smaller events.
29-year-old Aussie Jordan Thompson has looked absolutely devastating in Newport this year. He dropped only game in a routine demolition of Aleksandar Kovacevic in his opening match.
And he just downed Wimbledon surprise package Liam Broady in similarly routine fashion. The pugnacious Aussie has won two events on the Challenger Tour this year and he really started to come into his own as the season switched to grass. He reached the semi-final of the Surbiton Trophy prior to a brilliant run to the Romalen final.
He lost to Talon Griekspoor in three-sets to lose his 2nd career Rosmalen final (more on the first defeat later). Thompson had the misfortune of playing Djokovic in the 2nd round of Wimbledon and this event looks more to his liking. The key to Thompson’s grass-court success is his near unparalleled athleticism.
He doesn’t possess any notable weapons but he chases down everything. It will be a clash between Mannarino’s finesse and Thompson’s durability.
Verdict: Mannarino to win in three at 42/10
These two are certainly no strangers to each other. Mannarino leads the head-to-head 4-2. And that overall superiority is reflected in a 3-1 head-to-head advantage on grass.
Mannarino actually won their first three grass-court matches in straight sets. This included a victory in the 2019 Rosmalen final. But Thompson exacted some vengeance when they met in this year’s Rosmalen quarterfinals.
I think it’s easy to get sucked into Thompson’s crushing victories thus far. But I still think Mannarino has the craft to see his way to another grass-court semi-final.
Ugo Humbert 64/100 | Kevin Anderson 12/10
25-year-old French lefty Ugo Humbert has really been working hard to rehabilitate his ranking after a pretty disastrous 2022 campaign. He reached the 3rd round of the Aussie Open before reaching the 3rd round of the Indian Wells Masters.
He has won two Challenger titles this year but he has surprisingly struggled since the tour moved onto grass. He came into this year’s event with 1-3 record on grass this year. But he seemed to rediscover some of his grass-court nous with a solid win over 2018 Newport champ Steve Johnson.
Humbert is a confidence player and perhaps that victory over the veteran American will remind him of what a good grass-court player he can be. He reached the 4th round at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and he won the biggest title of his career at the 2021 Halle Open (an ATP 500 event).
He loves to volley and I think the Johnson win should give him more confidence to express himself at the net.
You quite often see female players come out of retirement for another fling at the bigtime. It’s a little bit rarer in the men’s game. But lanky 37-year-old South African clearly had an itch that had to be scratched.
The former Wimbledon and US Open finalist retired from the sport last May. The big-serving Anderson suffered with injuries throughout his career and it eventually took its toll. But he accepted a wildcard invite this year and has looked absolutely incredible thus far.
He has won both his matches in straight sets and seems reinvigorated on his return. Anderson is a supremely accomplished grass-court player. He reached the final at Queens to go with his SW19 runner-up finish.
And he won this very event in 2021 (the last of his seven ATP Tour titles). Can the fairytale continue this week?
Verdict: Anderson to win in straight sets at 11/4
Humbert actually won their only previous encounter at the 2020 Italian Open. I just think that Anderson’s class on these surfaces will offset his lack of tennis. Humbert is wildly inconsistent and almost the perfect quarterfinal opponent for the South African.
I expect Anderson to dominate on serve and take another step to an unlikely ATP final appearance.
