ATP Tennis: The Americans Harrison, Isner, Sock, and Querrey fall before the quarters at the Delray Beach Open.

The Americans Harrison, Isner, Sock, and Querrey lost before the quarters at the Del Ray Open in Florida.

Reilly Opelka is having his break out tournament here at the Del Ray Open in Florida.

Just when it appeared that Jack Sock might have found his winning form which took him to number nine in rankings last year, Reilly Opelka, a 21-year old American, upset him in three sets. The 228 ranked Opelka defeated Ryan Harrison, another countryman, in straight in the first and will face Peter Gojowczyk in the quarters. Peter subdued Lucas Lacko in three in the first and followed that performance with a hard-earned 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 victory over John Isner in the second. John Isner blasted thirty aces and won three more points than the German but still fell short of winning the match.

Steve Johnson will face Evgeny Donskoy after defeating Milos Raonic in the first round.

Steve Johnson, had registered only one win in the five matches that he has played in 2018, overcame Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-4 in the second. Steve needed this win before the Indian Wells and Miami Masters in March. Milos, on the other hand, served just above 50% and allowed Steve to win enough returns points and create ample break-point chances. Steve Johnson lost only twelve points on his serve and kept the pressure on Raonic. He will face the Russian Evgeny Donskoy, who took out yet another American, Donald Young in straight. Steve is 2-0 against Donskoy and, barring a surprise upset, we expect him to make it 3-0 soon.

Taylor Fritz to face Mikhail Youzhny after defeating Sam Querrey.

The bottom half of the draw has Taylor Fritz, who took out Sam Querrey in the first, pitted against Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. Taylor and Mikhail have never faced each other before but, based on the form alone, we expect Taylor Fritz to get past Youzhny in three. However, we will not be surprised if the seasoned Youzhny tops Fritz the first time.

Francis Tiafoe versus Juan Martin Del Potro should be a treat.

Francis Tiafoe will be facing Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round. These two have met twice before and, on paper, Juan Martin looks good to win this too. However, we would not discount Tiafoe to go toe-to-toe with the big man and even take him out if Juan Martin has a bad day at the office. Juan Martin Del Potro has lost to Tomas Berdych and Roberto Bautista Agut in 2018, and a loss to Francis Tiafoe would not be a shocker by any stretch of the imagination.

Can Hyeon Chung recreate his Australian Open performance?

Hyeon Chung, of the Australian Open fame, faces the 30-year old Croatian journey-man Franko Skugor, in the second round. Hyeon Chung is playing his first tournament after defeating Djokovic at the Australian Open earlier this year. Many expect this youngster to win a slam at some point in his career. Hyeon Chung will meet the winner between Del Potro and Tiafoe if he survives his second round against Skugor.

Dennis Shapovalov takes out Ivo Karlovic in the first round.

138mph follows the progress of Dennis Shapovalov with keen interest as he is our best bet of the NextGen. He did well in the first round to take out the seasoned serve-bot Dr. Ivo Karlovic in straight sets. He now faces 21 years old Jarred Donaldson, of the United States, who defeated the Canadian Peter Polansky, a lucky loser, in straight in the first. Shapovalov versus Donaldson is tough to call, but we give Dennis Shapovalov a slight edge in this battle of the NextGen if he can play his best against Donaldson.