We have all the predictions for a packed opening day of the 2021 US Open Grand Slam tournament in New York City. In this set of matches Damian Kust, Yesh Ginsburg, and Steen Kirby offer their predictions for Casper Ruud’s match and others.
Facundo Bagnis vs Taro Daniel
Damian: Daniel has a big lead in the head-to-head, although they only played on hard courts once. Of the two, the Japanese is definitely the one who’s more in his element on this surface. Daniel in 4
Steen: Daniel has won all four meetings, Bagnis has lost his last three matches and his record outside of his favored clay is atrocious. While Daniel also has four straight losses, he leads the h2h and has a better record on hard courts. This will likely not be the highest quality tilt. Daniel in 4
Yesh: This is a fun first match. Bagnis is likely the better player overall, but Daniel will prefer the hard courts. Daniel in 4
Ricardas Berankis vs Diego Schwartzman
Damian: Schwartzman generally avoids huge upsets and Berankis isn’t the kind of opponent to blow him off the court in the heavy New York conditions. Should be a comfortable victory most of the time.
Schwartzman in 3
Steen: Schwartzman won a few matches this summer on hard courts, and a former US Open quarterfinalist, Berankis is a journeyman who can string together wins from time to time but is not consistent in the same way as his opponent. Schwartzman should be able to play on relative cruise control. Schwartzman in 3
Yesh: Schwartzman looks in good form, and he looks hot and humid conditions. Berankis has nothing to challenge him with. Schwartzman in 3
Casper Ruud vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Damian: Tsonga has won one match in the past two seasons and his spot in the main draw is one of the most baffling results of the ranking changes. There’s no way he will keep up with a player who just reached back-to-back Masters 1000 quarterfinals on hard at this stage of his career. Ruud in 3
Steen: Ruud has been fantastic this season and reached the quarterfinals in both hard court Masters 1000 tournaments this Summer, Tsonga hasn’t won a match since March and retirement is imminent and looming. This is a headline match but I can’t see it being competitive. Ruud in 3
Yesh: Tsonga is clearly at the end of his career, and he hasn’t been fully healthy or in good form in a while. Ruud is quickly becoming one of the best in the world, and even though Tsonga in theory likes hard courts better, it won’t be enough. Ruud in 3
Kamil Majchrzak vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Damian: Majchrzak went through the qualies without losing his serve and has done some good work in this area of his game. He’s been quietly playing very good tennis recently and won’t be without a shot in this one, even if Ruusuvuori’s coming off a good week at Winston-Salem. Majchrzak in 5
Steen: Majchrzak has been excellent in the qualifying rounds and should be able to put up a good challenge here, Ruusuvuori had two semifinals on the US Open Series this summer and is playing some of the best tennis he’s ever played. I expect the Finnish #1 to come out ahead after a battle. Ruusuvuori in 5
Yesh: Ruusuvuori was great last year, but regressed after the pandemic break. He’s slowly improving again now, though he’s still not quite the same. Should be enough to get past the Pole, though. Ruusuvuori in 4
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