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ATP Delray Beach: Semifinal Predictions

By Nate Slaymaker

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ATP Delray Beach: Semifinal Predictions

On one side of the draw lies two young players who have had high expectations from their respective countries. They have both had issues off the court that derailed those expectations. On the other side of the draw are two veterans who have a good game, but always seem to be on the outside looking in. Bernard Tomic vs. Donald Young and Adrian Mannarino vs. Ivo Karlovic makes for two very intriguing matchups in the semifinals of the Delray Beach Open.

Who will move on to the championship. Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Donald Young (USA) vs. Bernard Tomic (AUS)

Bernard Tomic vs. Donald Young and Adrian Mannarino vs. Ivo Karlovic makes for two very intriguing matchups.

Donald Young, currently ranked No.56 in the world, used to be the hope of American tennis. The young lefty was charismatic off the court and had a punishing game on the court. Feuds with the USTA, the premier tennis training program in the United States, got his career off track. Lately he has put aside past problems and fulfilled some of the potential many have seen for years.

Young has now reached two consecutive semifinals on his home soil. His lefty serve has been on point. He has chosen the right spots to crank his big forehand. Most importantly, he has kept his head in the game no matter the circumstance. His hard fought, three set victory over No.3 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov is his third over a top 50 player in the last two weeks.

“I thought I fought well,” said Young. “I didn’t start off the way I wanted to. He was playing pretty well, hitting through the wind and controlling his shots quite good. I decided to buckle down, fight, go out swinging and got a little more not so conservative and it happened to work.”

Tomic’s story down in Australian is similar to Young’s. Tomic was supposed to replace the void left by an aging Lleyton Hewitt. Tomic enjoyed some early success, but trouble off the court hindered his game and his training. Tomic has had success this year. He reached the round of 16 in the Melbourne and has found the quarterfinals or better in every other event this season. He has enjoyed some big wins over Philipp Kohlschreiber (twice) and Dolgopolov.

The two youngsters have played only once, last week in Memphis. Young came away with the win in three very tight sets. Tomic has had a bit of an easier road this tournament and should be fresh enough to settle the score.

Prediction: Tomic

Andrian Mannarino (FRA) vs. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)

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Mannarino skipped his home country tournament in Marseille to play in South Florida. The decision has been a great one. After bowing out in the first round in Memphis (to Young, D.), he has beaten relatively weak opponents to make the semis in Delray Beach.

After losing the first set, Mannarino easily took care of Yen-Hsun Lu, 3-6 6-1 6-1. “In the beginning of the match, it was tough to get my rhythm,” Mannarino said. “The wind was bearing down and it was really cold. Finally, in the second set, I tried just to focus on my legs and move better and try to be more consistent.”

Karlovic is the highest seed remaining. He has ridden his big serve to this point in the tournament and in his career. He took out two up-and-comers on his way the this semifinal. Thanasi Kokkinakas and Steve Johnson were overwhelmed by Dr. Ivo’s relentless power and placement on the serve.

“It was really cold, and it wasn’t easy to move and to be aggressive,” Karlovic said after his quarterfinal win over Johnson. “In the beginning I was playing really good. It was maybe one of my best sets. Then he began to play a lot better, and it went to a tiebreak, so I’m happy I won today.”

Mannarino has not had an opponent in this tournament at Karlovic’s caliber. He will be overwhelmed by the serve. The pressure to hold and Karlovic’s attacking style will be too much for the Frenchman.

Prediction: Karlovic

For the semifinal schedule, click here.

Next: Top 10 Servers in Tennis Today

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