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For the primary time since 1991, all eight quarterfinalists at an ATP match are Individuals. Two of the all-American showdowns on quarterfinal Friday are Frances Tiafoe vs. Alex Michelsen and Aleksandar Kovacevic vs. Jenson Brooksby.
(5) Alex Michelsen vs. (2) Frances TiafoeOf the eight American quarterfinalists on the U.S. Males’s Clay Court docket Championship, solely three are seeded: Tiafoe, Michelsen, and No. 1 Tommy Paul. Tiafoe didn’t should work overly arduous to safe a spot within the final eight, as he bought a bye after which beat Adam Walton 7-5, 6-3. The world No. 17 might actually use a giant week contemplating he’s simply 7-6 this season and within the comparatively close to future can have an enormous chunk of his factors to defend in Cincinnati and on the U.S. Open.
(Q) Jenson Brooksby vs. Aleksandar KovacevicKovacevic and Brooksby can be going head-to-head for the second time of their careers and for the primary time on the primary tour. They haven’t confronted one another since 2019, when Brooksby prevailed 6-4, 6-3 at a hard-court Futures occasion in Champaign. Six years later, Brooksby absolutely figured to be a lot increased up the rankings at this time limit–and he can be if not for a 24-month absence attributable to each wrist surgical procedure and a doping suspension. The 24-year-old American, who is available in at No. 507 on the earth, upset Felix Auger-Aliassime in Indian Wells and up to now in Houston has dismissed Taro Daniel and Alejandro Tabilo–the latter from triple-match level down.
As much as 79th within the rankings, Kovacevic is enjoying by far the most effective tennis of his profession. The 26-year-old American was the Montpellier runner-up in February, gained the Cap Cana Challenger final month, and superior to the Houston quarterfinals with straight-set victories over Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Corentin Donelly. Brooksby already has 4 matches in his legs (two in qualifying), so Kovacevic ought to have the bodily edge on this matchup.
Choose: Kovacevic in 3
