Canadian Denis Shapovalov takes on Sebastian Korda on day 1 of the 2020 US Open. We here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for 24 matches on day, including Novak Djokovic vs Damir Dzumhur, Reilly Opelka vs David Goffin, Borna Coric vs Pablo Andujar, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Albert Ramos and Alexander Zverev vs Kevin Anderson. Damian Kust and Yesh Ginsburg providing their predictions for this slate of matches.
Denis Shapovalov vs Sebastian Korda
Damian: Seb Korda, the son of the 1998 Australian Open champion, is certainly one of the more exciting American prospects. But I think it’s far too early for him to be taking out a high-seed, especially one that appears to be in good form. Shapovalov has improved massively under Youzhny’s tutelage and he’s (at least not that often) not that error-machine that we’ve seen sometimes anymore. Shapovalov in 3
Yesh: Korda gets a chance to impress on home soil, but Shapovalov is just a better player and is in solid form right now. Shapovalov in 4
Taylor Fritz vs Dominik Koepfer
Damian: Dominik Koepfer is coming back to the site of his best career run and he won’t have the pressure of having to defend points. However, Taylor Fritz might not have gone far in “Cincinnati” but his level of play was high enough to make me convinced he will prevail over Koepfer, who hasn’t really done much since his US Open run last year. Fritz in 3
Yesh: Koepfer was a potential rising star last year, and he’s always one to keep an eye on. Don’t be shocked if he pulls off an upset here, though Fritz is tough to beat. Fritz in 5
Juan Ignacio Londero vs Evgeny Donskoy
Damian: This is really enigmatic. Over the past year or so, it was probably Londero who showed a higher standard of tennis but his ranking is pretty skewed due to his clay-court results. We haven’t seen Donskoy during the break but he actually had a rather solid start to the season. The Russian seems to have a higher ceiling on this surface (that Federer win in Dubai three years ago), so against an also rusty and not dialed in yet Londero, he might find a way to prevail. Donskoy in 5
Yesh: Londero is a clay court specialist, but Donskoy hasn’t shown much to think he can pull off any upset. This match might not be so pretty. Londero in 5
Jordan Thompson vs Stefano Travaglia
Damian: Both players weren’t able to come through qualifying at the Western & Southern Open. It’s hard to reliably assess where they’re with their games after one or two performances, but we should expect it to be relatively tight. Travaglia has a very complete game and while he has achieved less than Thompson throughout his career, he should recognize this match as a big opportunity. His speed around the court will be a big asset. Travaglia in 5
Yesh: Thompson had a career year last season, but he’s been held back this year, even before the COVID break. Still, I like him in this match on hard court. Thompson in 4
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