The US Open kicks off on Monday with a whopping 32 men’s matches on Day 1. It should be an incredible day of tennis action and–as always–we here at LWOT want to share our thoughts on every match with you. We split the 32 matches between eight articles. In addition to this article, our other articles feature Andrey Rublev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild, Frances Tiafoe vs Aleksandar Kovacevic, Ben Shelton vs Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils vs Diego Schwartzman, Alexander Zverev vs Maximilian Marterer, Taylor Fritz vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli, and Holger Rune vs Brandon Nakashima. Predicting these matches are Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will reach Round 2?
US Open Day 1 Men’s Predictions
Jiri Lehecka vs Marton Fucsovics
Ateet:
Jiri Lehecka made an impressive comeback after being sidelined for three months due to injury. Beating Daniil Medvedev and pushing Frances Tiafoe to a deciding set tiebreak was a great result in Cincinnati. Marton Fucsovics is always a tough first-round opponent for any player but if Lehecka can play at a good level, he should win this.
Prediction: Lehecka in 4
Damian:
Lehecka lost a lot of time and important events due to injury this summer, but the way he returned in Cincinnati was quite promising. Fucsovics is always a tricky customer though and he makes you work for the win. It’s the raw talent of the young Czech that’s probably going to lead him to victory here.
Prediction: Lehecka in 4
Yesh:
Fucsovics is a very solid player on the right day. Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t had many of his best days recently. Still, he’s probably healthier than Lehecka at the moment, and his game is still pretty consistent.
Prediction: Fucsovics in 4
Adam Walton vs Alexandre Muller
Ateet:
Adam Walton is in his first year on the ATP tour so he doesn’t have much experience at this level. He has just one match win on hard courts in eight matches. Alexandre Muller is not great on this surface either, but he is more experienced and plays aggressive tennis.
Prediction: Muller in 4
Damian:
Walton was crushing Challengers in Asia/Australia/North America, but on the main tour it’s been a tough journey for him so far. Not unexpectedly as he’s mostly just very consistent and doesn’t have many ways to bring himself easy points. Muller might be able to just outclass him in the long run with his superior weight of shot.
Prediction: Muller in 4
Yesh:
Muller is a consistent and tough player. He just hits the ball bigger than Walton is used to seeing. Walton might have a real future on Tour, but at present he’s not there yet.
Prediction: Muller in 3
Dominic Stricker vs Francisco Comesana
Ateet:
Dominic Stricker returned recently since getting injured in November last year at the NextGen Finals. Getting some matches before the US Open should give him some confidence. Comesana is yet to win a main draw hard court match which gives Stricker the advantage on this one.
Prediction: Stricker in 4
Damian:
Stricker made the fourth round last year, but it’s going to be so hard to repeat that run with the sort of campaign he’s had and all the physical issues this season. The good news for him is he’s received a workable draw here. Comesana is solid off-clay and can win some matches like at Wimbledon, but you have to think this is too good an opportunity for Stricker to pass up.
Prediction: Stricker in 4
Yesh:
Don’t let the recent injury absence fool you. Stricker is a future star of this game. He’s working his way back to match fitness, but he’s just better everywhere on the court than his clay-preferring opponent.
Prediction: Stricker in 3
Novak Djokovic vs Radu Albot
Ateet:
Novak Djokovic will begin his title defense on Monday against Radu Albot. Djokovic hasn’t played since winning the Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics but he has a good first-round to get into the rhythm. Radu Albot did well to qualify for the main draw but he doesn’t have any major weapon to trouble Djokovic.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Damian:
Albot is qualifying for Slams on a regular basis, but it’s going to be tough for him to do something here. Djokovic just had one of the most impressive victories at the Olympics and even if he might suffer some sort of a motivational dip after literally completing tennis, the gap in quality is just far too wide.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Yesh:
Albot can be a solid enough player on the right day. But he’s not in the same league as Djokovic.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
