The first ATP tournament of the year to be contested on US soil will be the New York Open, now in its third edition. Played at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the event was won last year by the big-serving American Reilly Opelka, who has returned to defend his title and is joined by fellow giants John Isner and Kevin Anderson. On day one, we here at LWOT are offering predictions for every match, including Miomir Kecmanovic vs Tommy Paul. But who will advance?
New York Open Day One Predictions
Steve Johnson vs Tennys Sandgren
Head-to-head: Sandgren 2-1 Johnson
This will be the fourth meeting between Steve Johnson and Tennys Sandgren, with Sandgren having won two of the previous three. But it was Johnson who won their most recent match, beating Sandgren in the final in on the clay in Houston in 2018 in three-sets to win the third title of his year and avenge defeats at Sandgren’s hands in Savannah in 2009 and 2013, also on clay. But Johnson may not be relishing his return to indoor tennis.
He has lost his last eight matches on indoor hard courts and has won just 38% of the matches he has played indoors throughout his career. Sandgren too has a losing record indoors, but he arrives at the New York Open in much better form than his compatriot. Whilst Johnson has been struggling for tour-level wins, Sandgren reached the Australian Open quarterfinals on his last outing, although that run did come to an end in heartbreaking fashion as he squandered seven match points in losing to Roger Federer.
He will need to put that disappointment behind him when he takes to the court against Johnson, who may have gained some confidence from his success at the Bendigo Challenger. Nonetheless, the Johnson backhand remains a real weakness in the Californian’s game, one Sandgren will surely look to target from the outset. Both men can be vulnerable at times, so expect a close contest possibly featuring a tiebreak, but Sandgren is that much more solid which should prove the difference.
Prediction: Sandgren in 3
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Jack Sock vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: first meeting
Has there ever been a fall from grace quite like it? Jack Sock ended 2018 by winning the Paris Masters and reaching the last four at the ATP Finals, earning him a career-high ranking of world #8. In 2019, he failed to earn a single ranking point, losing all eight of the singles matches he played on the regular tour. His only victory in the discipline did come against top ten opposition in the shape of Fabio Fognini, but that match was played during the Laver Cup.
Marcos Giron, in contrast, had a very solid year. He is still yet to break into the world’s top 100, with a career high-ranking of #102, but he did win a Challenger title last season. And he never lacks application on court, unlike the increasingly listless Sock. Make no mistake, Sock has the game to win this match, with his forehand and serve giving him weapons that Giron cannot match. But Sock has failed to deploy either to any effect over the last 14 months. Expect Giron to emerge victorious here.
Prediction: Giron in 2
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Jason Jung vs Mitchell Krueger
Head-to-head: Jung 4-1 Krueger
Taiwan’s Jason Jung will surely approach this qualifying match with real confidence, having beaten Mitchell Krueger in their last four meetings. Indeed, he has not dropped a set in doing so, making fast starts in all four matches by winning the first set 6-1. He also made an impressive start to his qualifying campaign, beating Gary Kushnirovich of the USA for the loss of just five games. The conditions at the New York Open may, however, suit the big-hitting Krueger better, with the Texan likely to find it easier to hold serve than he has in the past against Jung. But such has been Jung’s dominance of this rivalry, it is hard to see any outcome other than a Jung win.
Prediction: Jung in 2
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Damir Dzumhur vs Andreas Seppi
Head-to-head: Seppi 2-1 Dzumhur
Andreas Seppi may have had the better of this rivalry in the past, but it is hard to see the Italian extending his head-to-head advantage over Damir Dzumhur at the New York Open. Seppi, now 35, is not the player he was three years ago, having lost half-a-step of pace and some penetration off the ground. Dzumhur too has endured some struggles in recent years, having fallen from his career-high ranking of world #23 to 97th in the ATP rankings.
But he has generally played his best tennis indoors, whilst Seppi remains rather more at home on the clay, despite beating Dzumhur indoors in Sofia in 2017. Seppi’s race may not be quite run yet, with the veteran still a wily competitor. But after an encouraging display at Melbourne Park, where he took 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka the distance in the second round, he has lost back-to-back matches in Newport and Dallas. Expect his lean streak in the States to continue in New York.
Prediction: Dzumhur in 3
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