Eubanks – Johnson

Christopher Eubanks and reigning champion Steve Johnson will square off on Tuesday in the first round at Newport, the last grass court tournament of the season.

The 188th ranked Eubanks was granted a wildcard to play on the main draw in Newport. Eubanks had an average season so far (actually dropping 18 spots in the rankings), playing mostly challenger events where he usually got 1 or 2 wins before getting knocked out. This was also the case last week, where he lost in the quarterfinals at the Winnetka challenger, on hard courts, beaten by eventual finalist Jason Kubler.

Johnson didn`t have a very good year at all for his standards, barely reaching two quarterfinals at ATP 250 tournaments in the first 6 months of 2019. Nevertheless, he has shown improvement during the grass court season, reaching the second round at both Halle and Eastbourne. More notably, he managed to reach the third round at Wimbledon, defeating Ramos and De Minaur before losing in three sets to Nishikori.

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The two players never met before on tour. Eubanks is not a very good grass court player, while Johnson is, so the reigning champion should have an advantage.

Not only does the surface work in Johnson’s favor, but the tournament in itself should give him an edge. Newport is a really special place, with a tennis club atmosphere and a different speed on the grass. It is the last safe heaven for true grass court experts, and a tournament where certain players (usually either big servers, serve and volleyers, or small and fast guys) always do particularly well.

Johnson is one of these players. In his 5 appearances at Newport, he lost before the quarterfinals only once. He also managed to win the title here last season.

Even if Johnson is not necessarily in his best form, he has played pretty well during the grass court season, and he actually played solid tennis at Wimbledon. He`s getting back his rhythm, and should do well here at one of his favorite tournaments – especially considering that he has a title to defend.

Eubanks is a rather weak player with no special qualities, and seems like the perfect opponent for Johnson to get a quick start against. My tip will be Johnson to win in straight sets. Prediction: Christopher Eubanks – Steve Johnson 4-6 4-6.

Pick: Johnson 2:0
Odds: 1.83 @ Unibet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.64
Event date: 16 July