Two seasoned campaigners, Adrian Mannarino and Steve Johnson face each other in the first round of the 2023 Dallas Open on Tuesday.
The southpaw took part in the inaugural United Cup. Mannarino defeated Federico Coria but lost to Borna Gojo. In the ASB Classic, Mannarino was the 8th seed. His run ended in the first round following a loss to J.J. Wolf.
In the Australian Open, Mannarino picked up a hard-fought win against the big-serving John Isner in four sets. The second round saw the experienced Frenchman lose to 22nd seed Alex de Minaur to crash out of the competition. In the Dallas Open, Mannarino is entering as the 8th seed and will hope to have a deep run in the competition.
The 34-year-old is coming into the tournament on the back of a run to the quarterfinals of a Challenger event in Cleveland. He defeated Jonas Forejtek and Kyle Seelig before losing to 5th seed Aleksandar Kovacevic in the quarterfinals. Johnson won the first set but failed to capitalize.
The world No. 120 might be going into the match against Mannarino as the underdo. However, Johnson will be fancying his chances given that he has an impressive head-to-head record against the Frenchman.
The American veteran has a comfortable 5-2 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. He defeated Mannarino in their most recent encounter at the qualifiers of the Western & Southern Open last year in straight sets.
Prediction: Adrian Mannarino to win in straight sets.
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