10SBALLS SHARES RICKY’S PICKS FOR DAY 2 AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS – INCLUDING STAN WAWRINKA VS. FERNANDO VERDASCO AND DEL POTRO VS. SCHWARTZMAN

Written by: Staff on 29th August 2016

10SBALLS SHARES RICKY'S PICKS FOR DAY 2 AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS - INCLUDING STAN WAWRINKA VS. FERNANDO VERDASCO AND DEL POTRO VS. SCHWARTZMAN

epa05514643 Fans watch inside the new Grandstand court stadium as Frances Tiafoe of the US plays John Isner of the US during their match on the first day of the US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 29 August 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

By Ricky Dimon

First-round action continues at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, when Juan Martin Del Potro will be in action for the first time since the Rio Olympics. Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, has a tough opener on his hands with Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez has to go up against Borna Coric.

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

Fernando Verdasco vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka and Verdasco will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers on Tuesday. Verdasco leads the head-to-head series 3-2, after breaking a recent 2-2 tie by prevailing 6-2, 7-6(3) earlier this summer at Queen’s Club. They have only faced each other only once on a hard court, when the Spaniard got the job done 6-3, 6-3 at the 2012 Acapulco event. This post-Wimbledon summer has been a decent one for Verdasco, who finished runner-up in Bastad and turned in quarterfinal showings in Atlanta and Winston-Salem.

Wawrinka is just 5-5 in his last 10 matches dating back to the French Open semifinals. Despite skipping the Olympics, the well-rested Swiss suffered a disappointing 6-4, 6-4 third-round Cincinnati loss to Grigor Dimitrov. If there is some good news for the third seed, it’s that he is 13-3 in his last 16 U.S. Open matches and he has not exited prior to the quarterfinals since 2012–and he has not lost in New York to anyone outside the current top seven in the world since 2011. But based on current form and his past history against Wawrinka, Verdasco will be confident in his chances to bag another upset.

Pick: Verdasco in 5

A fan watches from beneath an umbrella in the new Grandstand Stadium as John Isner of the US plays Frances Tiafoe of the US on the first day of the US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 29 August 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/DANIEL MURPHY

(WC) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Diego Schwartzman

Because of recurring wrist issues that led to a disappearing ATP ranking, Del Potro needed a wild card to get into the U.S. Open–and that is exactly what he got. And why not? The 27-year-old Argentine is a past champion (2009), a former world No. 4, and the recent silver medalist at the Rio Olympics. Although Del Potro earned no ranking points for it, his 2016 comeback reached new heights in Rio de Janeiro with an opening-round upset of Novak Djokovic and a semifinal win over Rafael Nadal prior to a four-set loss at the hands of Andy Murray.

Up first for Del Potro is an all-Argentine affair with Schwartzman, who has won only two matches dating back to the start of the French Open. Both of those came last week in Winston-Salem, where the world No. 69 beat Mikhail Kukushkin and Gilles Simon before getting blown out by Yen-Hsun Lu. Schwartzman’s hard-court summer includes nothing else aside from a Cincinnati qualifying setback against Brian Becker.

Pick: Del Potro in 3

(16) Feliciano Lopez vs. Borna Coric

Lopez and Coric will be squaring off for the first time on Tuesday. Although he is just 19 years old (and 15 years younger than Lopez), Coric may be ready to take the next step in his career sooner rather than later. The Croat has plateaued since reaching a career high of No. 33 in the world last July, but he has displayed some promising signs of late. In addition to a decisive fifth-rubber Davis Cup win over Jack Sock that sent Croatia into the semifinals, Coric made a quarterfinal run two weeks ago in Cincinnati.

Lopez is still going strong at 18th in the world. So far this summer he boasts a clay-court title in Gstaad and a runner-up finish to Ivo Karlovic Los Cabos. The Spaniard advanced one round in Cincinnati (d. Mischa Zverev) before falling to Grigor Dimitrov in a final-set tiebreaker. Lopez can dictate play in this one if he serves extremely well, but Coric is a counter-puncher who can turn opponents’ pace against them and youth may be served in what will likely be a prolonged battle.

Pick: Coric in 5