10SBALLS SHARES RICKY’S PICKS FOR DAY 1 AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS, INCLUDING RAFAEL NADAL VS. DENIS ISTOMIN & JACK SOCK VS. TEEN SENSATION TAYLOR FRITZ

Written by: Staff on 28th August 2016

10SBALLS SHARES RICKY'S PICKS FOR DAY 1 AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS, INCLUDING RAFAEL NADAL VS. DENIS ISTOMIN & JACK SOCK VS. TEEN SENSATION TAYLOR FRITZ |

We’re walking the grounds today showcasing all of the new improvements. – Photo by @usopen via Twitter.

By Ricky Dimon

The 2016 U.S. Open gets underway on Monday, and Rafael Nadal will be among those in action. A two-time champion in New York, Nadal will kick off his campaign against an opponent he has owned in the past–Denis Istomin. Meanwhile, pair of all-American showdowns are also on the Day 1 schedule. John Isner is going up against Frances Tiafoe, while Jack Sock is facing Taylor Fritz.

Ricky previews and makes his predictions for three of the most intriguing Monday matchups:

(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Denis Istomin

Nadal and Istomin will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time at the U.S. Open when they meet on Monday afternoon. All four of their previous encounters have gone Nadal’s way and he is 10-1 in overall sets against Istomin. Their 2010 night-session battle in New York City was entertaining from start to finish, but the 14-time major champion still managed to get the job done in straight sets with a 6-2, 7-6(5), 7-5 win. It has since been one-way traffic for Nadal, who rolled 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 at the 2012 French Open and 6-1, 6-0 at the 2014 Miami Masters.

Because of a wrist injury, the Spaniard has played only two events since withdrawing in the middle of the French Open His comeback at the Rio Olympics did not disappoint, as Nadal won the gold medal in men’s doubles with Marc Lopez and finished fourth in singles. Obviously less than 100 percent the very next week in Cincinnati, the world No. 5 dropped his third-round match to Borna Coric 6-1, 6-3. Istomin’s 2016 record stands at a dreadful 7-20 and he has not won a tournament match at the ATP level since his Wimbledon opener against Nicolas Almagro. The 107th-ranked Uzbek is likely once again head for another straight-set exite at Nadal’s hands.

Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games

(26) Jack Sock vs. Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz of the US hits a return shot to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in their first round match of the Western & Southern Open tennis championships at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, 16 August 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Sock and Fritz will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they collide again on Monday. Their only previous contest also came in the first round of a Grand Slam, with Sock surviving 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Australian Open. Fast forward seven months and Fritz, the U.S. Open junior champion last summer, is up to No. 54 in the rankings with 13 ATP-level match wins to his credit this season. The 18-year-old’s hard-court summer features a quarterfinal performance in Atlanta and a recent Winston-Salem opening-round win over France Tiafoe.

Sock’s post-Wimbledon summer has been marred by a decisive Davis Cup fifth-rubber loss to Croatia’s Borna Coric and an immediate defeat at the Rio Olympics to Taro Daniel. The world No. 28 should be craving success in New York, and not just because of his recent slump. Sock’s last two trips to Flushing Meadows ended in retirements (in the 2014 second round and the 2015 first round). Against a younger opponent who still is not used to best-of-five matches, Sock will likely get has campaign started in winning fashion.

Pick: Sock in 4

(20) John Isner vs. (WC) Frances Tiafoe

The first men’s match on the new Grandstand at the U.S. Open will take place when Isner goes up against Tiafoe. Isner’s lone Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came at this tournament in 2011, but immediately thereafter he kept running into the New York buzzsaw that was Philipp Kohlschreiber. The 6’10” American fell to Kohlschreiber in three consecutive third rounds at the U.S. Open before finally getting back to last 16 in 2015 (lost to Roger Federer). Isner could really use some more success in Flushing Meadows, because his 2016 campaign has mostly been a disappointment. His record stands at a modest 24-16 and at No. 22 in the world, Isner is now the second-ranked American behind Steve Johnson.

Tiafoe is up to 124th in the world (just one spot off his career high), so he is in the discussion for direct entry into the 2017 slams–but he needed a wild card to get into this one. The 18-year-old American has been to four Challenger finals in 2016, but he is only 2-11 at the ATP level during his brief career (1-5 this season). Although this would be a competitive head-to-head matchup if they meet again in the not-too-distant future, as it stands right now Isner should not have much trouble.

Pick: Isner in 3