Nick Kyrgios looks to back up his great performances all summer long by making a deep run at the US Open in New York, Thanasi Kokkinakis is first up. We have predictions for every first round match from the final grand slam of the season including Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev’s opening round matches.
Nick Kyrgios vs Thanasi Kokkinakis
Damian Kust: Matches between friends tend to get weird as the players just know each other extremely well. The disparity in form is still too huge for me to consider picking the upset, but it’s far from an ideal opening-round draw for Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios in 4
David Gertler: Kyrgios has not always been healthy during the North American hard-court swing, but when he has, the Aussie has been tough to beat. He’s serving big, utilizing excellent variety, and has been fairly consistent from the baseline. Given that Kyrgios has a bigger serve and more reliable baseline game, I look for him to win this match. Kyrgios in 4
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Damian: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina didn’t grab a single win in the warm-ups, but he was handed a couple of brutal draws. His confidence could be a bit shaken though and if Yoshihito Nishioka can play as he did in Washington, he can drive the Spaniard crazy with the unpleasant trajectory of his shots. Nishioka in 5
David: Nishioka turned a lot of heads making the final in Washington, with his heavy, consistent lefty game giving opponents fits. However, Davidovich Fokina can match Nishioka from the baseline and has court craft that Nishioka lacks. This should be a thriller, but the Spaniard should come through. Davidovich Fokina in 5
Aljaz Bedene vs Pedro Cachin
Damian: Quite the draw for both. Pedro Cachin has been on fire in the last few months, but his career record on hard courts is very pedestrian. He’s got a pretty big serve though and should be able to play his game even on an unnatural surface, especially against someone who’s barely playing on tour anymore.
Cachin in 4
David: Bedene is a fit, solid baseline player who hits his spots on serve. Cachin has a big serve and a game that should translate well to hard courts, given how he’s been performing on clay, but he also hasn’t played much on hard courts this season and that will come back to bite him. Bedene in 4
John Millman vs Emilio Nava
Damian: Emilio Nava has some potential, but the serve and forehand game lacks regulation. Punishing inconsistent players is what John Millman does best and the Aussie should quickly realize that Nava’s backhand is a big liability. He’s got the tools to expose it. Millman in 4
David: Millman is very fit and very consistent, which is super important in the New York heat and humidity. Nava has a big first serve and a nice forehand, but he doesn’t have the rally tolerance to hang with Millman in best-of-five. Millman should grind Nava down. Millman in 4
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