RICKY’S PICKS FOR THE SECOND DAY OF THE FIRST ROUND AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS, ANDY MURRAY, STAN WAWRINKA, J.M. DEL POTRO, DONALD YOUNG JR., SAM QUERREY & NICK KYRGIOS ALL ON SCHEDULE

Written by: Staff on 29th August 2016

RICKY'S PICKS FOR THE SECOND DAY OF THE FIRST ROUND AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS, ANDY MURRAY, STAN WAWRINKA, J.M. DEL POTRO, DONALD YOUNG JR., SAM QUERREY & NICK KYRGIOS ALL ON SCHEDULE |

Photo by @usopen via Twitter

By Ricky Dimon

Ricky gives his blow-by-blow analysis of the first-round action in the bottom half of the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open. It all takes place on Tuesday, when Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Nick Kyrgios will be among those in action.

(8) Dominic Thiem vs. John Millman. With Thiem worn out and Millman playing great tennis, this one will be a lot more competitive than it appears on paper. Thiem in 4.

Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (Q) Ilya Ivashka. Carreno Busta just won his first career ATP title on Saturday in Winston-Salem, and I had literally never heard of Ivashka prior to qualifying. Carreno Busta in 3.

(29) Sam Querrey vs. (PR) Janko Tipsarevic. Querrey vs. a Serb at a Grand Slam. That went quite well for Querrey at Wimbledon. This one will, too, albeit with much less fanfare. Querrey in 3.

(19) Steve Johson vs. Evgeny Donskoy. Johnson just crushed Donskoy in Rio. If the American doesn’t get caught looking ahead to a second-rounder with Del Potro, he will do so again. Johnson in 3.

(WC) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Diego Schwartzman. Del Potro was at the mercy of the draw with no seed by his name, but he ended up getting a good one. Schwartzman did not. Del Potro in 3.

Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (11) David Ferrer. Ferrer may be struggling to stand due to old age and wear and tear. Dolgopolov may be struggling to stand due to injury. Ferrer in 4.

(14) Nick Kyrgios vs. Aljaz Bedene. Ah, it pays to be seeded. Last summer, Kyrgios had to face Murray in round one. Now he is going up against a much less accomplished Brit. Kyrgios in 3.

Damir Dzumhur vs. (17) Bernard Tomic: Tomic-Kyrgios in the third round? Yes, please. Should it happen? Yes. Will it happen? With those two, who knows? Tomic in 4.

(27) Alexander Zverev vs. (Q) Daniel Brands. It’s always good to see Brands successfully battling into main draw of slams given how many injuries he’s been through. But youth is on Zverev’s side, and youth will be served. Zverev in 4.

Denis Kudla vs. (Q) Alessandro Giannessi. Giannessi posted very good qualifying wins over Yuichi Sugita and Tobias Kamke. Plus I’m not sure Kudla can beat anyone these days. Giannessi in 5.

Fernando Verdasco vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka. Wawrinka is 5-5 in his last 10 matches and has not looked particularly interested of late, either. The No. 3 seed should be put on upset alert. Verdasco in 5.

(6) Kei Nishikori vs. Benjamin Becker. Becker wasn’t even young when he beat Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open 11 years ago. He doesn’t have much left in the tank–certainly not enough to compete with Nishikori. Nishikori in 3.

(Q) Christian Harrison vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu. That’s right, folks; Christian Harrison is in the main draw of the U.S. Open (Ryan is, too, for that matter). After qualifying, he has another winnable match on his hands. But three out of five will be tough. Mathieu in 4.

Nicolas Mahut vs. (25) Philipp Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber owns one of the marathon men (John Isner) at the U.S. Open. He won’t own the other (Mahut). The German has been hurt and Mahut is in fine form. Mahut in 4.

(21) Ivo Karlovic vs. Yen-Hsun Lu. Yen-Hsun is probably going to Lu-se this match. But he shouldn’t feel too bad; almost everyone is losing to Karlovic at the moment. Karlovic in 4.

Donald Young vs. Jan-Lennard Struff. Young won what everyone thought was the last men’s match in the old Grandstand on his way to the fourth round last summer. Another run in New York may begin at Struff’s expense. Young in 4.

(Q) Jared Donaldson vs. (12) David Goffin. Donaldson is playing the best tennis of life. Granted he hasn’t had a long life (19 years), but he is playing great. Drawing Goffin, however, is a borderline nightmare. Goffin in 3.

(16) Feliciano Lopez vs. Borna Coric. Best matchup of the entire first round? It’s possible. Let’s hope it lasts for a full five sets. Coric in 5.

(22) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Inigo Cervantes. Dimitrov is starting to play well again. If he continues, there is no reason why this match should be interesting. Dimitrov in 3.

(30) Gilles Simon vs. (Q) Radek Stepanek. Simon is six years younger and ranked 82 spots better than Stepanek. Think that gives him the advantage? Think again. Stepanek in 4.

Lukas Rosol vs. (2) Andy Murray. During a match last year in Munich, Murray told Rosol, “No one likes you on the tour. Everyone hates you.” It’s not quite Wawrinka-Kyrgios, but this is a spicy matchup. The actual match won’t be. Murray in 3.