ATP Washington Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Swim with Duckworth in Sandgren clash
• Querrey can land Citi Open upset
• Big-serving Opelka has title chance

ATP Washington Picks

James Duckworth to beat Tennys Sandgren at -135 at BetMGM 

Sam Querrey to beat Kei Nishikori at +175 at bet365

Reilly Opelka to win ATP Washington at +2500 at William Hill 

How to Watch ATP Washington

Tennys Sandgren vs James Duckworth

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Both of these men were playing at the Olympics in Tokyo last week, a city 13 hours ahead of Washington.

The 24-hour flight will have been brutal but Sandgren’s late departure may well work against him in this contest.

The American was still in Japan on Friday night when he lost in the doubles bronze-medal match, after which he cut a dejected figure and spoke about potentially retiring.

That was probably a case of emotion getting to him – he’s still expected to line up here – but jetlag and little time to have recovered from the bitter blow make him vulnerable here.

After all, Sandgren has only won six of 18 tour-level matches this season with only one win against a higher-ranked opponent than Duckworth.

The Aussie comes in here as world number 77, just shy of his career-high, and with a decent hard court record this season having beaten David Goffin in Miami and Ugo Humbert in Melbourne.

He also recently made the third round at Wimbledon, defeating Sam Querrey along the way, so the speedy conditions expected in Washington should be welcome.

There are lots in Duckworth’s favor here and he looks worth a wager at -135.

Kei Nishikori vs Sam Querrey

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Nishikori is another player arriving at the Citi Open straight from the Olympics – he was still playing there on Thursday evening when winning just two games against Novak Djokovic.

Missing out on a medal in his home Games will have been a disappointment and now he’ll have to adjust to faster courts in the US capital.

They should play in Querrey’s favor. His big serve has been winning him plenty of free points in recent weeks – he served 36 aces in defeat to Peter Gojowczyk in Atlanta last week.

Admittedly that was a fourth straight loss which is an obvious concern but he’s a player who has troubled Nishikori in the past with that big delivery.

Querrey has won three of seven matches on outdoor hard, while narrow it down to matches in North America and it’s 2-2.

If Nishikori is a bit sluggish – and given his traveling that wouldn’t be a surprise – Querrey is capable of landing the upset at +175

Round Two Upsets?

The seeds, led by Rafael Nadal, all get a bye into round two and some of them could be vulnerable in their tournament opener.

They include Jannik Sinner, the Italian teenager who has struggled to build on a strong start to the season.

It may be a bit quick for him in Washington this week and last week’s Atlanta semi-finalist Emil Ruusuvuori may cause him problems first up at a decent price.

It will be interesting to see what the money line is for Dan Evans’ match against either Kei Nishikori or Alexei Popyrin.

The Briton is returning to action for the first time since contracting COVID-19, something which forced him to withdraw from the Olympics, and he could easily to fall to either opponent.

Finally, American Steve Johnson may be worth a try if he lines up against third seed Alex De Minaur in the second round.

Johnson, twice a semi-finalist in Washington, has shown some decent signs in the past couple of weeks during which he’s bedded into the North American hardcourts.

In contrast, De Minaur is playing for the first time since Wimbledon so Johnson, whose best results have nearly all come in his homeland, may be worth a go as a decent-priced underdog.

Best Outright Pick

Reilly Opelka’s two ATP titles have both come on US soil and he may be able to add the Citi Open crown this week at +2500.

The big-serving American slammed down 48 aces in two matches in Atlanta last week, where he lost in a final-set tie-break to Taylor Fritz, and the conditions here should aid his game in a similar fashion.

He’s in the bottom quarter of a draw which looks a decent section to be in.

It’s led by second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is worth opposing after he lost to late alternate Max Purcell at the Olympics.

The sportsbooks have Rafael Nadal as the man to beat but he’s returning after an eight-week lay-off and could be rusty.