In these two of the 16 separate mini-tournaments that make up the US Open qualifying there is both a player 21-years-old or under and a veteran who is 30-years-old or older. Likewise, one of the two “qualifying seeds” placed in each mini-tournament lost in first round play on Monday. Such are the ups and downs Grand Slam tournament qualifying. As with all 16 of the min-tournaments, one survivor will claim one of the coveted final spots in the US Open that begins next Monday in New York City.
All 32 qualifying “semifinals” are scheduled to take place Thursday on the outer courts of the National Tennis Center. As is frequently the case in qualifying, each is a first time head-to-head professional match up for the competitors. Here are our predictions for some of the highly anticipated matches.
US Open Qualifying Day 3 Predictions
Franco Agamenone vs Roberto Marcora
Roberto Marcora’s slot in the second round of qualifying arrived unexpectedly. Ranked 598th in the world, The 33-year-old Marcora dusted off Genaro Olivieri, who is ranked over 300 spots ahead of him, in two quick sets on Monday. While Marcora’s is a great story, Franco Agamenone is playing better right now. The 29-year-old overcame a tough first set loss to shake off Francisco Cornesna in 3 sets on Monday. The 10th seeded Agamenone reached his career-high ranking of #108 earlier this month and sits only a few slots away from direct acceptance into the draw. Marcora’s nice story will end on Thursday.
Prediction: Agamenone in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Zack Svajda vs Alexander Ritschard
The teenage Zack Svajda is ranked world #306 while Alexander Ritschard sits inside the top 200. At 28-years-old, Ritschard possesses more overall experience than the younger American. Still, Svajda is playing for a spot in the US Open. As a junior star, Zvajda won direct acceptance to the main draw in both 2019 and 2021. In 2021, at age 17, he won a main draw match before falling to rising star Jannik Sinner in four tight sets. Now as a US Open “veteran at 19”, Zvajda is in qualifying by way of a wild card. He will use it to his advantage and knock out Ritschard who will still be longing for his first Grand Slam tour level match win.
Prediction: Svajda in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Corentin Moutet vs Filip Misolic
Corentin Moutet and Filip Misolic hold rankings between 110-140 in the world, they are both in their early 20s, theirs is a textbook US Open Qualifying match. Moutet, the 11th seed, brings much experience to the Grand Slam arena. He holds a 10-15 record in Grand Slam main draw play and knocked out Stan Wawrinka at this year’s tournament at Roland Garros. While Misolic is only 24 spots behind him in the world ranking, at 21-years-old he simply does not have the experience to upset his slightly more mature opponent. Misolic showed toughness in outlasting Martin Damm in three sets on Monday. That toughness and ability to close will help keep this close, but Moutet will have too much on Thursday.
Prediction: Moutet in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Stefano Travaglia vs Wu Yibing
On paper, Stefano Travaglia, world #190 and Wu Yibing, world #178, are separated by few ranking points. However, their form coming into US Open Qualifying varies greatly. Wu arrived in New York with 10 straight victories at the Challenger Tour level while Travaglia lost his last nine matches. While some of the 30-year-old Travaglia’s losses were in ATP Tour level events, others came at lower levels or in qualifying. Look for Wu to be able to call on his recent success to squeak past the Travaglia.
Prediction: Wu in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
