The Delray Beacgh Classic continues on Valentines Day as Alex Michelson faces Thanasi Kokkinakis and Marcos Giron goes head to head with Emilio Nava in the round of 32. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 ATP Tour – ATP 250
Delray Beach Classic
Delray Beach Tennis Centre
Selected Ro32 Matches | 14 February
Alex Michelson 87/100 | Thanasi Kokkinakis 9/10
19-year-old American Alex Michelson rose like a comet through the world rankings during his breakthrough 2023 campaign. Originally scouted by the University of Georgia, Michelson made the decision to skip the college route and go pro in 2022.
And that decision seems to have been justified already. The young American made a splash on the Challenger Tour last season and he also managed to make some inroads on the ATP Tour proper.
He annihilated Albert Ramos Vinolas at the US Open and he also reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Newport. He started this season pretty slowly before a brilliant third-round run at the Aussie Open. He accounted for the much-touted Jiri Lehecka en route to his defeat to Alex Zverev.
He is learning by the second and I’m sure it will only be a matter of time till he reaches another final. He-like many other Americans- has a powerful serve and dominating forehand. But he also possesses the ability to slice and approach the net. He has an all-court game that could take him far.
Now we turn our attention from Michelson’s frightening potential to perhaps squandered potential. I know that’s harsh, but I really believe that Thanasi Kokkinakis should have registered more than two ATP Finals in his career.
But there have been some slight slivers of hope for the engaging Aussie over the past few years. He won the Adelaide International II in 2022 prior to claiming the Aussie Open double’s title alongside firebrand Nick Kyrgios.
He beat Andrey Rublev last year (his first win against a top ten player in five years). He also reached the third round of the French Open for the first time in eight years. But 2024 hasn’t exactly started in the most auspicious fashion.
He is currently 1-4 for the year in tour-level matches. Having said that, he did push an in-form Dimitrov to four sets in the second round of the Aussie Open. I like Kokkinakis and I always feel that he has the capacity to compete with anyone due to his outrageous power.
But he is simply too inconsistent and hits too many unforced errors. Can he subdue those urges to take down the promising young American?
Verdict: Kokkinakis to win 9/10
This will be the first career meeting between these two. This is an extremely tough call. Michelson clearly has the higher ceiling and he has already produced a few excellent performances this season. But Kokkinakis has more experience and he could overpower the fledging American.
Marcos Giron 31/100 | Emilio Nava 24/10
30-year-old American has been something of a journeyman pro in his up-and-down career. A few serious hip injuries have curtailed his development but he did manage to reach the final of the San Diego Open back in 2022.
And he once again showcased his hardcourt prowess with a semi-final run at the Japan Open towards the end of last season. But Giron went into last week’s Dallas Open in dreadful form, desperately trying to break a five-match losing streak at tour-level.
And he broke that streak in magnificent style, reaching his second career ATP Final to put him on the brink of breaking into the world’s top 50 again. He lost to Tommy Paul in the final but it can’t take away from his brilliance throughout the week.
He never lost his serve en route to the final and he seems to be moving better than ever. It’s going to take a lot from him to come down from that emotional high this week.
22-year-old Emilio Nava has been one who has been lost in the shuffle in terms of young American talent. The baseliner enjoyed an excellent junior career, losing in the finals of the Aussie and US Open in 2019. He hits the ball really cleanly but he has struggled somewhat to establish himself on tour.
He recorded his maiden Masters 1000 victory at last year’s Miami Open (beating veteran American John Isner). He also reached two Challenger finals last season, winning the title in Modena. But he is yet to win a tour-level match this season (he has struggled on the Challenger circuit, to be fair). Can he elevate his game enough to be competitive against a recent ATP finalist?
Verdict: Giron to win in three sets at 26/10
This will be their first-ever tour-level meeting (though Giron won when they met on the Challenger Tour in 2019). I think Giron should have far too much quality for Nava.
But he isn’t accustomed to playing in such quick succession after reaching a final and this may give Nava a chance to catch him cold early on. Still, Giron has served too well of late and perhaps a three-set Giron win actually carries some value.
