The US Open continues on Tuesday, with the remaining 32 men’s first-round matches on Day 2. It should be an action-packed day of tennis, and–as always, we here at LWOT share our thoughts on every match. We split the 32 matches between eight articles. At the bottom of the article we have links to all of our US Open men’s Day 2 predictions. Predicting these matches are Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will reach Round 2?
US Open Day 2 Men’s Predictions
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Jakub Mensik
Damian
It’s tough to say where exactly Mensik is at the moment, it still doesn’t feel like he has fully recovered from his injuries in the spring. Auger-Aliassime meanwhile is on an upswing and while he’s probably going to lose to the first top-quality player he encounters, he can beat just about anybody else at the moment.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Ateet
This has the making of another cracking match if Jakub Mensik can live up to the expectations, which he couldn’t do due to fitness issues the last time these two met. Auger-Aliassime is in better form coming into this match and will hope to make a deep run. I think the Canadian has more confidence right now and that will help him get over the line.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 4
Yesh
Auger-Aliassime is playing really well right now, disastrous ending against Jack Draper notwithstanding. He should move on.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Hugo Gaston vs Facundo Diaz Acosta
Damian
Diaz Acosta isn’t completely awful on hard courts, but his two performances in the lead-ups certainly weren’t suggesting he would be a threat at the US Open. But Gaston is a nice draw, someone who won’t be able to blow him off the court at all. It’s still the Frenchman who gets a slight nod here, but this is one of the more unpredictable matches of the round.
Prediction: Gaston in 5
Ateet
Gaston and Diaz Acosta couldn’t win a match in this North American hardcourt swing but have a chance to do so here on the biggest stage. Diaz Acosta has only won one main draw match on this surface, whilst Gaston has a win percentage of 31. It can be anybody’s match but I will go with Gaston who has more experience and has never lost to the Argentinian.
Prediction: Gaston in 5
Yesh
Hugo Gaston is hard to get a read on. He has so much potential and so often just plays mediocre tennis. Never bad tennis, but for some reason doesn’t play his best. He should be able to deal with the Argentine on these courts, though.
Prediction: Gaston in 4
Matteo Arnaldi vs Zachary Svajda
Damian
Svajda is the type of player who tends to get Arnaldi in trouble recently with the Italian wildly overhitting against most good defenders. But will the quality gap between them prove a bit too huge? Maybe. Arnaldi has a real shot at a big run at this event and he’d be very disappointed to lose it against someone with much less quality than he owns.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 4
Ateet
Matteo Arnaldi made a great US Open debut last year where he reached the second week and has had some good wins in Montreal recently. Zachary Svajda also racked up some wins last week but winning three sets over Arnaldi is something I can’t see him doing.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 4
Yesh
Zachary Svajda is having a pretty solid summer. He’s more used to courts like this than his opponent, and he’ll get some home fans backing him up. Don’t be surprised if he takes this one.
Prediction: Svajda in 4
Tommy Paul vs Lorenzo Sonego
Damian
Paul doesn’t have it all that easy in the opening round as Sonego is always dangerous and is coming off his best run of the season. The American’s consistency is generally quite impressive though and two early losses to peaking players won’t change that. Over the longer format he’s still a considerable favorite over Sonego.
Prediction: Paul in 4
Ateet
Tommy Paul’s preparation for US Open hasn’t gone as he would have hoped for but nothing can take away how well he has played this year. He is well-rested due to the early losses and is one of the dark horses for this tournament. Sonego has found his form at the best possible time as he won his fourth ATP title in Winston-Salem. Sonego is a dangerous player for anyone in this form and Paul will have to be on his toes.
Prediction: Paul in 4
Yesh
What a rough draw for both of these guys. Sonego slipped out of seed rankings, which is bad luck for both men. This should be way too high-quality a match for a first round, but the American is better right now.
Prediction: Paul in 4
Day 2 Men’s US Open Predictions
- Jannik Sinner vs Mackenzie McDonald
- Carlos Alcaraz vs Li Tu
- Denis Shapovalov vs Botic van de Zandschulp
- Hubert Hurkacz vs Timofey Skatov
- Daniil Medvedev vs Dusan Lajovic
- Arthur Fils vs Learner Tien
- Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Thanasi Kokkinakis
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports
