Roberto Bautista Agut and Marin Cilic are favored against American opposition on day 2 of the US Open, but both Americans will be looking for upset victories at their home slam. Steen Kirby and Andrew Watson offer their predictions.
Tennys Sandgren vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Andrew: Potentially one of the highest quality matches in the opening round. Sandgren will leave it all out on the court and will have to hit a very high level to come out on top. Bautista Agut was excellent on these courts in the Western & Southern. The Spaniard got the better of Medvedev over three sets and took Djokovic to third set tiebreak as well. Bautista Agut’s much improved serve and impressive defensive movement will be the key tools to his victory here. Bautista Agut in 4
Steen: Roberto Bautista Agut is primed for a deep run against a weakened US Open field, Sandgren has already shown his potential to break out in slams, but the veteran Spaniard has a higher gear and a more consistent game. Bautista Agut in 4
Marin Cilic vs Denis Kudla
Andrew: There are plenty of reasons to believe that Cilic is vulnerable here. He hasn’t played a great deal of tennis this year. He did pop up at the ill-fated Adria Tour during the break but lost every match there and also lost on his return to the tour last week to Denis Shapovalov. It is difficult to know whether Kudla is prepared to take advantage though. He also lost in the first round last week and was one of the less active players during the exhibitions. In the end Kudla may struggle to break the Cilic serve often enough on these quick courts given his poor return numbers. This may give the Croatian the platform to win the match and progress into the tournament. Cilic in 4
Steen: Cilic is playing poorly from what we’ve seen but he’s still a former champion and Kudla is far less accomplished, plus his form is not exceptional either. I expect a relatively low quality, scratchy match, with Cilic getting over the line. Cilic in 3
Vasek Pospisil vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
Andrew: If the Canadian isn’t too tired from his politicking then he has a good chance of progressing here. The veteran German is on the decline in his career and Pospisil was showing great form at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020. The problem is that he hasn’t been seen for a quite a while now so it is anyone’s guess on what shape he is in. Kohlschreiber did play a series of exhibition, but against a load of German tennis players who aren’t ATP standard. Tiebreaks are going to be likely here as both players are rather serve reliant but both players have around 50% win ratios on tiebreaks so that isn’t helpful in separating them. Pospisil just about gets the vote though with the free points he should earn with his serve and forehand combination and his better recent form. Pospisil in 4
Steen: Pospisil is now better known for organizing a new ATP Player’s Union and his outspoken advocacy for players than he is for his singles tennis. Kohlschreiber can’t have that many slams left in him though and the relative home cooking should favor the Canadian. Pospisil in 5
John Millman vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Andrew: This is going to be very entertaining. Basiliashvili will be going for his shots and he will need to to get past the defences of Millman. The Australian has a good recent record at Flushing Meadows having defeated Roger Federer on the way to the quarterfinals in 2018 but with the speed of the courts this year he could have trouble if the Georgian finds his range. The chances are that he won’t though judging from recent form and the solid game of Millman is expected to see him through. Millman in 4
Steen: It was a terrible COVID-19 season break for Basilashvili, who was charged with domestic violence back home. Millman has a good US Open record and Basilashvili will be battling other demons most likely. Millman in 3
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