The Atlanta Open continues this week as Alejandro Davidovich Fokina faces Reily Opelka as Ben Shelton goes up against J.C. Shang. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 ATP Tour – ATP 250
Atlanta Open
Atlantic Station
Selected QF matches – 25 July
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 99/100 | Reily Opelka 79/100
The 25-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is one of the most unpredictable players on tour. He has only reached one ATP final, finishing runner-up at the 2022 Monte Carlo Masters.
That pretty much sums up his turbulent career. He is only hanging onto a top-35 ranking due to his outstanding semi-final run at last year’s Toronto Masters.
The Spaniard is wildly unpredictable and he has really struggled for form this season (this will be just his third quarter-final appearance of the year).
His serve was in fine working order in his opener against Cazaux: he served 11 aces and won an impressive 83% of his first-serve points. The Spaniard will be happy to be competing again after missing a few events- Wimbledon included- due to a back injury.
What a comeback this has been for Reily Opelka. The giant American must have wrestled with retirement after missing practically two years of tennis due to hip and wrist issues.
But he returned with a bang in Newport, reaching the semi-finals to supersede his own expectations. And he never missed a beat in the switch from grass to hardcourts, beating Kovacevic in straight sets to open his Atlanta account.
Opelka understands what it takes to thrive during this North American summer swing, reaching the biggest final of his career at the 2021 Toronto Masters. These Atlanta courts are famously brisk and play right into Opelka’s strengths (big-serving John Isner has won this event a record six times).
But you do have to wonder about Opelka’s physical state this week. He said he felt shattered last week and he may start to feel the strain having spent so much time away from the game.
The Verdict: Davidovich Fokina to win in three sets at 33/10
This will be their first career meeting. Opelka will go into this as a massive crowd favourite and he should dominate on serve. Davidovich is a more well-rounded player, with far more variety from the back of the court.
I just think that Opelka’s exertions in Newport could hinder him as this match progresses.
Ben Shelton 6/10 | J.C. Shang 5/4
I think that the Olympics would have been an ideal environment for boisterous American Ben Shelton. The big-serving lefty feeds off rambunctious crowd support and I think he will have thrived in Paris.
Shelton has decided to skip the event and focus on his North American hardcourt preparations. This has been an interesting season for the American.
He won his second career title on the Houston clay but he did struggle for consistency during the European clay-court swing (which may have informed his decision to skip the upcoming Olympic Games).
But he came back strong at SW19, going out to Jannik Sinner in his round of 16 clash. Shelton took the tennis world by storm last season, revving up the New York crowd en route to a sensational semi-final finish at the US Open.
This will be his first outing since Wimbledon as he looks to justify his decision not to represent his country next week.
Ben Shelton isn’t the only talented young lefty rising through the ranks. 19-year-old J.C. Shang has made notable strides over the last two years and he could very well represent the future of Chinese tennis.
He first caught the eye back in 2022, becoming the youngest Chinese player in history to win a Challenger title. He made smaller breakthroughs last season, sometimes battling to take the initiative in matches. His coaching staff has worked on making him slightly more aggressive and it has certainly paid dividends this year.
He started the season in fantastic style, reaching his maiden semi-final in Hong Kong before a highly creditable third-round run at the Aussie Open. He struggled to string together back-to-back wins during the clay-court campaign but he came back swinging on grass, reaching the quarters in Eastbourne before scaring Dimitrov in their Wimbledon second-round match.
He has looked solid this week, coming through qualifying unscathed before absolutely belting Andres Martin 6-1, 6-1 in his first-round match.
The Verdict: Shang to win in three at 38/10
It always feels slightly old-fashioned when you see two lefties going at each other. Shang actually has a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over his more celebrated opponent.
In fact, Shang beat the rowdy American in straight sets when they met here last season. And I think the Chinese could just edge this one. His lefty serve down the T really exposes Shelton’s backhand wing and his willingness to build points seems to frustrate the American.
