Tournament #2 seed Dominic Thiem and talented shotmaker Grigor Dimitrov are among the players in action on day 2 of the US Open. Our panelists Yesh Ginsburg and Damian Kust offer their predictions.
Grigor Dimitrov vs Tommy Paul
Damian: This can be one of the clashes of the round. Paul won this one in over four hours back at the Australian Open. This should be a nice opportunity for Grigor Dimitrov to get his revenge. Both didn’t have a great week at the Western & Southern Open but it was the Bulgarian who appeared much, much more solid. Dimitrov in 4
Yesh: This is an unfortunate draw for both of these players. Paul is still working his way towards the top of the game, while Grigor Dimitrov is finding his consistency once again. This would be a solid later-round matchup, but Dimitrov looks good to go deep here. A first round hurdle might help him in the long run. Dimitrov in 4
Gianluca Mager vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Damian: Mager’s ranking is heavily inflated by his Rio Open title and the Italian is not nearly at his best on hard courts. Kecmanovic played some good exhibition tennis in the first months of the pandemic, but he hasn’t taken the court since June. Still, even without match rhythm, Kecmanovic has a much higher ceiling on this surface. Kecmanovic in 4
Yesh: Kecmanovic can be very inconsistent, but he showed his talent last year and I expect him to push through, eventually. Kecmanovic in 4
Christopher O’Connell vs Laslo Djere
Damian: Christopher O’Connell was one of the most impressive performers last year in lower-tier events but he has not yet managed to transcribe that form to the main tour. The Australian will like his chances here though as Djere is mostly a clay-court specialist and should be just as rusty as him. O’Connell has a big game that should be rewarded in these faster conditions. O’Connell in 4
Yesh: O’Connell might be a future Australian star, but he’s not there yet. Meanwhile, Djere is a solid player, which should be enough to overcome youth. Djere in 4
Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar
Damian: The second seed played one of the worst matches of his professional career last week, spraying errors all over the place against Filip Krajinovic. But with a whole week of practice and many, many matches throughout the pandemic break, it is unlikely this weird dip in form will last. Munar is a competent hard court player too but if the right Thiem shows up, there should be a difference of class. Thiem in 3
Yesh: Munar plays way too defensively to stick with Thiem’s power on these courts. This won’t be fun to watch. Thiem in 3
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