RICKY’S PICKS AND PREVIEWS U.S OPEN TENNIS MONDAY • ROGER FEDERER VS. MILLMAN OF AUSTRALIA, CILIC VS. GOFFIN AND NISHIKORI VS. KOHLSCHREIBER

Written by: Staff on 2nd September 2018

RICKY'S PICKS AND PREVIEWS U.S OPEN TENNIS MONDAY • ROGER FEDERER VS. MILLMAN OF AUSTRALIA, CILIC VS. GOFFIN AND NISHIKORI VS. KOHLSCHREIBER

epa06985529 Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Benoit Paire of France during the fourth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 30 August 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE |

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Benoit Paire of France during the fourth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 30 August 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE

By Ricky Dimon

The U.S. Open quarterfinals will be set following Monday’s action. Among those looking for a spot in the last eight are Roger Federer, Marin Cilic, and Kei Nishikori. Cilic may have an especially tough matchup on his hands with David Goffin.

Ricky previews three of the best matches on Monday and makes his predictions.

John Millman vs. (2) Roger Federer

Millman is through to round four of Grand Slam for the first time in his career and his reward is what should be an incredible experience but also a brutally tough matchup on Monday at the U.S. Open. He will be going up against Federer for the second time in his career, with the Swiss having won their only previous encounter 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 three years ago on the hard courts of Brisbane. More than three full seasons later, Federer is still flying high at 37 years old. The Swiss already owns one Grand Slam title in 2018 (Australian Open) and his bid for another in New York is underway with straight-set wins over Yoshihito Nishioka, Benoit Paire, and Nick Kyrgios.

Although Millman is in the midst of his best year on tour, his run to the second week could not have been forecasted. The world No. 55’s post-Wimbledon summer had included a pair of second-round exits on clay and immediate losses in both Cincinnati and Winston-Salem. Suddenly, though, Millman finds himself playing on Labor Day following wins over Jenson Brooksby, Fabio Fognini, and Mikhail Kukushkin. The affable Aussie will enjoy himself in this one, but he does not have anything close to the firepower necessary to trouble Federer in Fed’s current form.

Pick: Federer in 3

(7) Marin Cilic vs. (10) David Goffin

Cilic has a new lease on life at the BJKNTC after flirting with disaster against Alex de Minaur, whom he ended up outlasting 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in three hours and 59 minutes at 2:22 in the morning on Sunday. The 2014 U.S. Open title winner preceded that epic comeback with much more routine affairs with Marius Copil and Hubert Hurkacz; in fact, he surrendered only two games the entire way against Hurkacz.

Up next for Cilic on Monday is a sixth contest against Goffin, who who leads the head-to-head series 3-2–including 2-1 on hard courts. The Croat, however, has taken two in a row with straight-set wins at the 2016 Paris Masters 1000 and on the Rome clay courts 2017. Goffin earned another shot at Cilic by defeating Federico Gaio, Robin Haase, and Jan-Lennard Struff, dropping a mere one set to Haase in the process. The 10th-ranked Belgian was a recent semifinalist in Cincinnati, but he retired against Federer and then smartly withdrew from of Winston-Salem. Not unlike Cilic vs. de Minaur, this is a fun contract in styles that should result in an extremely competitive contest. But even if he is slightly fatigued, the world No. 7 can shorten points with his power and eventually hit Goffin off the court in these conditions.

Pick: Cilic in 5

(21) Kei Nishikori vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

Nishikori and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the third time in their. Both of their previous meetings have gone the way of Nishikori, who coasted 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and the 2016 Aussie Open and 6-1, 6-2 this spring in Rome. In a favorable section that Alexander Zverev has already vacated and in which Cilic is not looking dominant, the door may be ajar for Nishikori to reach the USO semis for a third time. The Japanese star has improved to 26-13 in 2018 with victories over Maximilian Marterer, Gael Monfils, and Diego Schwartzman.

Kohlschreiber missed out on seed by only one ranking spot, but he still managed to get a favorable draw and has certainly taken advantage. The 34-year-old earned his place in the fourth round with a trio of four-set wins; two at the expense fellow Germans Yannick Hanfmann and Alexander Zverev plus one over Matthew Ebden. Kohlschreiber is a proven force at the USO, with incredible consistency that has now taken him to the second week an impressive five times. But the world No. 33 is 0-4 lifetime in round four and his past struggles against Nishikori also suggest his time in NYC is coming to an end.

Pick: Nishikori in 3