RICKY DIMON JUMPS ACROSS ‘THE POND’ GRASS-COURT SEASON CONTINUES AS ISNER, DUSTIN BROWN, IVO KARLOVIC HEADLINE NEWPORT

Written by: Staff on 12th July 2015

RICKY DIMON JUMPS ACROSS 'THE POND' GRASS-COURT SEASON CONTINUES AS ISNER, DUSTIN BROWN, IVO KARLOVIC HEADLINE NEWPORT

Dustin Brown of Germany in action against Viktor Troicki of Serbia during their third round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 04 July 2015. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

Too soon after Wimbledon? Nope. This is the ATP World Tour, where the action never stops.

One day after Wimbledon, the stars will be back on the court–grass, still–at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. Among those headlining the 250-point field are John Isner, Ivo Karlovic, Bernard Tomic, Jack Sock, and Dustin Brown.

Look no further than the very top of the Newport bracket to find a first-round battle between two past champions. Isner triumphed in 2011 and 2012, while fellow American Rajeev Ram lifted the trophy in 2009. The two veterans will face each other for the first time in their careers and the winner could go up against countryman Ryan Harrison, an occasional doubles partner of Ram. This is a quarter of the draw that will be heavy on fan favorites, as Tommy Haas is one of the headliners along with Isner and Harrison.

The second section includes Tomic and Steve Johnson. Tomic took a late wild card into this event after being banned by Tennis Australia from his country’s Davis Cup quarterfinal tie against Kazakhstan this upcoming weekend.

On the bottom half, all three American men are seeded. Sock, No. 4, is looking to bounce back from a tough Wimbledon campaign in which he lost right away in singles and failed to defend his doubles title with Vasek Pospisil. The 22-year-old faces a tough opener against Radek Stepanek, but his road will open up if he can get through that test.

Stepanek was out from the 2014 U.S. Open until this April because of a back injury, but he may finally be rounding into some form. The 36-year-old Czech reached the second round of the French Open and played Aljaz Bedene in a five-setter at Wimbledon (Stepanek lost 7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4). Speaking of physical problems, Sock suffered a fractured finger at the All-England Club. He played through it in doubles (lost in the third round) after losing his singles opener, but he heads into Newport as a question mark.

Sixth-seeded Sam Querrey is on a collision course for the quarterfinals with Karlovic, while Tim Smyczek—the eighth and final seed—has a favorable draw on the other side of Sock’s section.

The bottom quarter featuring Querrey and Karlovic is especially intriguing. It is also home to Brown, who was already well-respected as a great entertainer and is now a borderline household name in tennis circles after upsetting Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. Brown could meet Querrey in the last 16.

Ricky’s final pick: Tomic over Querrey

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Bernard Tomic, Dustin Brown, Ivo Karlovic, John Isner, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, The Grandstand

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10sBalls_com says:

July 12, 2015 at 2:21 pm

-@Dimonator JUMPS ACROSS ‘THE POND’ GRASS-COURT SEASON CONTINUES AS ISNER, @DreddyTennis, KARLOVIC HEADLINE NEWPORT- http://t.co/81g84EkDqt
Dimonator says:

July 12, 2015 at 2:38 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator JUMPS ACROSS ‘THE POND’ GRASS-COURT SEASON CONTINUES AS ISNER, @DreddyTennis, KARLOVIC HEADLINE NEWPORT- http…