Ben Shelton has turned pro and takes on Nuno Borges in the first round of the US Open, Shelton, a former top NCAA and junior standout is one of the players to watch at this year’s tournament. We have predictions for every match at the US Open including Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios’s first round matches.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Daniel Elahi Galan
Damian Kust: Daniel Elahi Galan has a decent hard-court game with the serve and forehand, but it’s unlikely to be explosive enough to take down Stefanos Tsitsipas. Even if the Greek encounters some obstacles along the way, he’s unlikely to lose this over the best-of-five format. Tsitsipas in 4
Steen Kirby: Galan was solid in qualifying, he’s had a nice summer at the lower levels of the tour, Tsitsipas comes off the final in Cincinnati though and is a much stronger player on this surface. Although nothing is a given in best of 5, Tsitsipas should be playing with confidence and win this one. Tsitsipas in 3
Ben Shelton vs Nuno Borges
Damian: Nuno Borges hasn’t been playing that well recently and he’s in the main draw mostly by the virtue of being extremely clutch. Ben Shelton might be feeling the pressure, but he’s the better hard-court player of the two by quite a lot and it should be the deciding factor. Shelton in 4
Steen: Borges had a tough third round qualifying win, he has limited experience at this level so it’s a great opponent to start with for Ben Shelton. Shelton is up to 171 in the rankings as a newly turned pro, 19-9 over his career on the pro circuit, Shelton has a lot of promise and will be a player to watch this week. He should start with a win, though I do expect some opening jitters. Shelton in 5
Alex Molcan vs Thiago Monteiro
Damian: Thiago Monteiro can sometimes play well on hard courts, especially when his lefty serve is firing. Alex Molcan has a much more natural game for this surface though, especially as his improvements on the attack allowed him to extend his success from clay to all conditions. Molcan in 4
Steen: A semifinalist in Hamburg, Molcan went 1-2 this summer on hard courts, Monteiro won a clay challenger title in July and much prefers the surface. Molcan should have a better hard court game and that’s enough. Molcan in 4
Stan Wawrinka vs Corentin Moutet
Damian: We’ve seen this one at the French Open as Corentin Moutet was able to easily absorb Stan Wawrinka’s power and didn’t even have to rely on his variety. It doesn’t feel like the Swiss has improved enough since then to not be in trouble here again. Moutet in 5
Steen: Moutet leads the h2h 2-0 including a win this year, Moutet is a lucky loser into this tournament, Wawrinka is 3-10 on the season and has really been struggling. Given the h2h, I’ll back Moutet, even though neither player is at a strong level presently. Moutet in 4
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