As the ATP 500 World Tour event Dallas Open 2024 moves to its next leg, it’s mostly American players followed by Australians who lead the pack of qualified contestants. One such Australia vs America contest to look forward to is the Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla match in the second round of the bottom half.
On the back of emphatic wins in their respective first-round draws, both Thompson and Kudla will be gunning for another win. Thompson beat wildcard entrant Adam Neff 6-3, 6-1 and Kudla beat Radu Albot of Moldova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
The Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla match will take place at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex at Southern Methodist University. Americans can watch it on the Tennis Channel and it will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK. The match starts not before 2.20 PM ET.
Jordan Thompson is the 7th-seeded player in the tournament with a world rank of 44. He has been a professional for a long time, first entering the Top 100 in 2016 and reaching his first ATP final at the Libema Open in 2019. Thompson lost to Adrian Mannarino there, who is a competitor in this Dallas Open.
He won the 2022 Surbiton Trophy beating Denis Kudla, his upcoming opponent, and won his 4th Challenger Title in four years. It was an early rendition of the soon-to-come Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla battle.
Thompson reached the third round of the French Open and Wimbledon in 2019 and 2021 respectively. It’s the farthest he has been in Grand Slams. His form has taken a spike lately, as the 29-year-old reached the semi-final of the Brisbane International, his first hard-court ATP final. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the tournament.
Denis Kudla, on the other side, started playing tennis before Thompson did. He reached the fourth round of the 2015 Wimbledon, which remains his best Grand Slam performance to date. He also reached the third round of Wimbledon and the US Open a couple of times after that too. However, just like Thompson, 31-year-old Denis Kudla struck great form in recent times, winning the 2023 United Cup.
It is an interesting match-up between Kudla and Thompson, given both of them have been playing the sport for more than a decade now. Both of them have provided glimpses of their great performances from time to time and both only recently struck great rhythm. However, Thompson is a seeded player and inside the Top 50 rankings, whereas Dennis Kudla is a lucky loser. Therefore, The SportsRush predicts the Australian to win the Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla match.
The temperatures will remain somewhere around 19-20 degrees Celsius with overcast conditions and 60% humidity. Rain is unlikely to play spoilsport. The tickets are available and fans can reach the venue via bus, trams, or cabs to watch the match. The odds are in Thompson’s favor at 1.30 vis-a-vis 3 for Kudla as per Pokerstars.
Which side does history go in favor of in ‘Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla contests?
The Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla battle is not a brand-new occurrence. The pair have met 6 times before, starting with the Tiburton Challenger in 2014. Kudla won the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and took a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head contest. They next met at the AEGON Championships in London three years later, where Kudla took another lead in their rivalry. He won the match 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.
Thompson’s first win came at the Geneva Open in May 2019, where the Australian won by 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. Kudla soon bounced back in their next encounter in June 2022, where he won at the Surbiton Challenger in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. The duo’s only Dallas Open before this year was last year where Kudla won. The score was 6-1, 7-5. The only saving grace that Jordan Thompson has in their head-to-head battle is that he won their latest encounter to date at the Delray Beach Open. Took place six days after the Dallas Open 2023, Thompson beat Kudla 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). Despite a 4-2 head-to-head lead, the predictions still favor Thompson.
