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 Novak Djokovic vs Radu Albot, Frances Tiafoe vs Aleksandar Kovacevic, Ben Shelton vs Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils vs Diego Schwartzman, Alexander Zverev vs Maximilian Marterer, Andrey Rublev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild, 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
Christopher Eubanks vs Arthur Rinderknech
Ateet:
Eubanks has gained form just in time after a terrible season. He played and served extremely well in Winston-Salem and was so close to beating Alex Michelsen in the quarterfinals. Arthur Rinderknech has also been in good form on hard courts and has similar weapons to Eubanks. This match will be close with not many breaks of serve. I will give the advantage to the home player.
Prediction: Eubanks in 4
Damian:
More or less since Newport, Eubanks has improved his results considerably and is threatening to return to the Top 100. A win at the US Open would go a long way and he’s facing an opponent that’s not out of his range at all. Maybe he can pull this off as the matchup looks close and he’ll have the crowd on his side.
Prediction: Eubanks in 4
Yesh:
Eubanks had a horrible year until a month ago, but he’s played much better since. Rinderknech was probably better than him all year so far, but right now I think the American might have this.
Prediction: Eubanks in 5
Grigor Dimitrov vs Kyrian Jacquet
Ateet:
Dimitrov is having his best season since 2017 and although he hasn’t done a lot of winning recently, he won’t be too bothered. He has a lot of pedigree on this surface and Kyrian Jacquet won’t pose much trouble.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Damian:
Jacquet is a fun watch and this qualifying success is a great reward for him. But this is the first someone of this quality and the step up might be a bit rough to handle. Especially with Dimitrov being so athletic and capable of handling all the situational shots that the Frenchman will be forcing him to play.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Yesh:
Grigor Dimitrov might be past his prime, but he’s not too far past it. He is still capable of greatness at lots of moments, and even his poorer performances can beat almost everyone on Tour. He should win this easily.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Maks Kasnikowski vs Pedro Martinez
Ateet:
Kasnikowski lost just one set in the qualifying rounds to reach his first-ever Grand Slam main draw appearance on the first try. He has so much potential and will fancy his chances against Pedro Martinez, who has lost four matches in a row at all levels. Martinez has just one US Open win in his career.
Prediction: Kasnikowski in 5
Damian:
What a Slam qualifying debut it was for Kasnikowski and the reward is a matchup against a player who would never call hard courts his favorite surface. But it’s not like Martinez is completely out of his element in conditions like this. He might still have just a bit too much quality for the young Pole.
Prediction: Martinez in 5
Yesh:
Kasnikowski was so impressive in qualifying that I wonder what he can do at these courts. The Pole is playing his best tennis at the right time, so I think he can move past Martinez, too.
Prediction: Kasnikowski in 5
Taylor Fritz vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Ateet:
Taylor Fritz’s hard courts summer hasn’t gone as planned but he has the opportunity to make up for it at the US Open. He is well rested and has an easy opener on paper, against Camilo Ugo Carabelli, who has never won a main draw match on this surface.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Damian:
This is a very nice opening draw for Fritz and he likely won’t spend too much time here. Ugo Carabelli played two hard court matches in the lead-up and unsurprisingly didn’t win a set. His game on this surface just doesn’t have much to offer and the American should find it pretty easy to overwhelm him.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Yesh:
I would favor Fritz in this matchup on clay, too, but at least it would be closer. On the US Open hard courts? We’re looking at a blowout.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey USAToday
