Reilly Opelka vs Mackenzie Mcdonald Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Newport Open

Prediction published on 17/07/2024, 17:49  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 17/07/2024 at 18:41 in Tennis Predictions

We'll have an unseeded  American in the semi-finals of the Hall of Fame Open tournament. Wild card Reilly Opelka takes on unseeded Mackenzie McDonald for a place in the last four. Waiting for the winner will be either third seed Alex Michelsen or unseeded Aleksandar Kovacevic.

That line-up also confirms that we'll have an American in the final of this grass court tournament. Reilly Opelka is the world number 1188 but was as high as 17th a couple of years ago. This is only his second tournament since August 2022 hence his low ranking.

He won his only match last year but then withdrew from the second round. Opelka was given a wild card to play in his first ATP Tour event since 2022 and has had a great week so far. He's beaten Constant Lestienne and top seed Adrian Mannarino, both in three sets.

MacKenzie McDonald has been struggling for form and is 99th in the latest ranking list. That's 62 places below the career-high he achieved last year. Only three of his eight grass court matches were won last month and he lost in the first round at Wimbledon.

He's finally found some form in this tournament. Wins have come over eighth seed Rinky Hijikata (after losing the first set) and then beat qualifier Billy Harris in straight sets. Before this week he'd only won one ATP Tour main draw match. We tip this match to go to three sets.