World number 40 Ugo Humbert faces the 197th-ranked Steve Johnson in the second round of the 2023 Newport Open on Wednesday, July 19. Get the predictions and odds of this Ugo Humbert v Steve Johnson match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Ugo Humbert v Steve Johnson Head to Head
Humbert and Johnson have never faced off in a competitive match before this.
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Humbert on a Three-Match Losing Streak
Humbert has earned himself a first round bye but the bigger question for him is if he can turn around his poor run on grass this season.
It did not always look like that as Humbert had eased past Jason Kubler in the first round of the Rosmalen Open, in what was the first match he played on grass.
Since then, however, things haven’t quite gone his way with Humbert losing three matches in a row on this surface. What makes that worse is the kind of opponents who have defeated him – Emil Ruusuvuori at Rosmalen, Ryan Peniston at Queen’s and Jason Kubler at Wimbledon.
He now faces Johnson, whose performances have been restricted to Challenger circuits and whose ranking has fallen to 197th in the world. Can that help Humbert in breaking the three-match streak?
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Johnson Overcomes Yunseong
Having never been ranked in the top 230 in his career, Yunseong Chung was never going to find it easy in his opener but where he could have fancied a chance is his opponent’s overall form this season hadn’t been great.
Johnson, a former world number 21, has fallen to 197th in the world, and was coming into this tournament on the back of just one main draw win at the highest level.
He doubled his win count here with a 6-2, 6-3 rout of Yunseong in the first round match that failed to test the American. Johnson needed a mere 64 minutes to come through.
Such was the lopsided nature of victory, Johnson did not face a single break-point even as he overcame his opponent’s serve on three occasions – twice in the first and once in the second set.
Things will get slightly more difficult now but Johnson will know he’s up against a player whose struggles on grass have been well-chronicled. Having won this title in his career, Johnson might not make it any easier for Humbert.
Humbert v Johnson Prediction and Tip
While the odds suggest that Humbert is a 1/3 favourite here, we reckon the match could go a lot closer than that. Johnson knows his way around this surface and Humbert’s grass form hasn’t been the greatest. We could see a third set.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Johnson to win a set: 8/11
The 2023 ATP Newport will be played from July 17 to 23. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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