TENNIS NEWS – 2017 U.S. OPEN MEN’S SINGLES DRAW • RICKY’S PICKS

Written by: Staff on 27th August 2017

TENNIS NEWS - 2017 U.S. OPEN MEN'S SINGLES DRAW • RICKY'S PICKS |

Photo by @usopen via Twitter.

U.S. Open men’s singles draw analysis: Federer, Nadal on same side, bottom half wide open

By Ricky Dimon

If Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal square off at the U.S. Open for the first time ever in 2017, it won’t be in the final. Federer, who lost out on the No. 2 seed to Andy Murray by only five rankings points, landed in Nadal’s half of the draw on Friday. It is a difficult top half, especially in Federer’s quarter where Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, and Juan Martin Del Potro also reside.

The other half, meanwhile, is wide open (to an even greater extent, in fact, than it already was). Murray, who has not taken the court since Wimbledon, withdrew from the tournament on Saturday afternoon. Making his debut as a top four seed at a slam, Alexander Zverev is now the highest-ranked player in his entire half.

Nadal’s quarter

Aside from seeing Federer land on his side, Nadal will not mind his draw one bit. The world No. 1 opens with Dusan Lajovic before a possible date with Tommy Paul, and his nearest seed is Richard Gasquet—against whom Nadal owns a 15-0 record. Should the Spaniard advance to round four, he may be able to further avenge his stunning 2015 U.S. Open loss to Fabio Fognini (Nadal has since defeated Fognini four times in a row). Tomas Berdych and Alexandr Dolgopolov are also possible opponents for the top seed in the last 16.

Similarly, Cincinnati winner Grigor Dimitrov should not have any trouble in week one at the season’s final Grand Slam. Dimitrov could run into Andrey Rublev in round two before things get even more interesting at the start of the second week—likely against either Gael Monfils or David Goffin. Monfils and Goffin are both question marks from a physical standpoint, so Dimitrov is the only reliable performer in his eighth of the draw.

Best first-round matchup — Jeremy Chardy vs. (18) Gael Monfils

This will be the two Frenchmen’s third career contest at the ATP level and their third in round one of a major. Monfils prevailed at the U.S. Open in 2009 before Chardy got the job done in five sets at Wimbledon in 2016. Both players are heading into the year’s final major with question marks. Monfils has taken a step back this season and withdrew from Cincinnati due to illness. Chardy has not played since losing right away at the All-England Club to Tomas Berdych. If both are close to 100 percent, though, this will be a fun one.

Federer’s quarter

The top half of the bracket is stacked, and Federer’s section is the toughest of the tough. It also includes Thiem (French Open semifinalist), Kyrgios (Cincinnati runner-up), Winston-Salem champion Roberto Bautista Agut, and 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro. Federer may not even have the easiest of opening-round matches against Frances Tiafoe, who accounted himself well in a 7-6(2), 6-3 loss to the Swiss earlier this year in Miami.

If Federer’s back is 100 percent, however, he should not have any real trouble in the first week. Tiafoe is not ready to pull off such a monumental upset and the 36-year-old’s next two opponents (likely veterans Mikhail Youzhny and Feliciano Lopez) are not overly dangerous. The question is will Kyrgios and Del Potro be able to play their way into second-week showdowns against the 19-time Grand Slam champion. Kyrgios vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber would be an intriguing third-rounder, while Del Potro has a tough path that could include Bautista Agut in the third round and Thiem in the last 16.

Best first-round matchup — Marcos Baghdatis vs. (WC) Taylor Fritz

Baghdatis and Fritz were one round away from going head-to-head in the Winston-Salem quarterfinals, but the Cypriot got bounced by Bautista Agut. Fritz was disposed of by the Spaniard one day later. Now the veteran and the youngster will do battle on a much grander stage in New York City. Fritz is slowly rounding into form after spending the early stages of the season working on fitness as opposed to getting matches under his belt. Baghdatis picked up two decent wins in Winston-Salem and should take additional confidence from having reached the U.S. Open fourth round last season.

Zverev’s quarter

Zverev’s reward for his first-ever top four seed is a rich one. Not only is he the highest-ranked player in a quarter of the bracket, but he is now the only man in the top 10 in his entire group of 32. That’s because world No. 7 Marin Cilic, who had been a potential quarterfinal foe for Zverev, moved into Murray’s spot at the bottom of the bracket when the Scot pulled out. But even with Cilic elsewhere, the 20-year-old German may have to contend with the likes of other big hitters such as Muller, Sam Querrey, Kevin Anderson, John Isner, and Karen Khachanov.

All eyes will be on Zverev to see how he copes with the pressure of being among the favorites at a Grand Slam, but the story in this section is a massive opportunity for the host nation. Arguably the United States’ three best men right now—Isner, Querrey, and Jack Sock—find themselves in an incredibly soft part of the draw. There is absolutely no reason why the fourth-round matchups in this section can’t be Zverev vs. Sock and Isner vs. Querrey.

Best first-round matchup — Jiri Vesely vs. Borna Coric

Coric and Vesely have already squared off four times—twice in 2016 and twice in 2017. The head-to-head series stands at 3-1 in favor of Coric, but they have split a pair of clay-court encounters this season. This is an interesting contrast in styles, with Vesely looking to impose his will with big lefty serves and a heavy dose of forehands while Coric counter-punches and tries to play his way into backhand-to-backhand rallies. The 20-year-old Croat has gotten the best of his opponent for the most part, but conditions in New York could help Vesely.

Cilic’s quarter

Just when you thought a half of a slam could not get any softer, Murray pulled the ripcord. With the Scot gone, the 64 men on that side have combined to reach a total of four major finals in their careers (Cilic two, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga one, and David Ferrer one). Like Murray, Cilic has not suited up since Wimbledon—unable to defend his 2016 Cincinnati title. It looks like he is ready for the U.S. Open and his draw is great, but Diego Schwartzman in the third round or Ferrer in the last 16 could bring about the end of Cilic’s fortnight. Tsonga may run into trouble against Shapovalov in the second round or against Steve Johnson or Kyle Edmund in round three.

Lucas Pouille, a 2016 U.S. Open quarterfinalist, has been a disaster since winning a grass-court title in Stuttgart. The Frenchman’s slump most recently saw him lose to Jared Donaldson in Montreal, and he will likely face Donaldson again on Wednesday—if he survives his opener versus Ruben Bemelmans. Speaking of major quarterfinalists, Pablo Carreno Busta has cooled off (mainly due to injury) since Roland Garros. But the unseeded group near him is uninspiring at best, so either he or fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas should reach the fourth round.

Best first-round matchup — Nicolas Almagro vs. Steve Johnson

This is a matchup of French Open doubles partners, who have squared off in singles once. Their only previous encounter also came in the first round of a major, with Almagro surviving a five-set battle at the 2013 Australian Open. The Spaniard’s Roland Garros doubles campaign with Johnson marks one of the last times he has played. He has not taken the court since suffering a nasty injury at the French Open against Del Potro, which forced him to retire immediately. Home-court advantage in the United States and hard surface favor Johnson, but Almagro cannot be discounted if he is back to 100 percent.