While there’s no Grand Slam in Canada, for Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the US Open is the closest slam to home. Auger-Aliassime takes on Alexander Ritschard on day 1 of the US Open, Taylor Fritz is also in action. We have predictions for every day 1 match at the final Grand Slam of the season including Daniil Medvedev’s opening match.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Alexander Ritschard
Damian Kust: Alexander Ritschard’s probably too much of a loose cannon to produce the upset here. He’s always going to be dangerous when on, but maintaining the level required over three sets seems like too much of an ask. Auger-Aliassime in 3
Yesh Ginsburg: Auger-Aliassime is looking in strong form, though not elite right now. That’s more than enough to take care of a qualifier to open the tournament. Auger-Aliassime in 3
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Yibing Wu
Damian: If Nikoloz Basilashvili plays as he did in his last couple of events, it’s not even a question. But even the Georgian at the peak of his abilities would struggle against the amount of talent that Yibing Wu has been showcasing on the court recently. Wu in 4
Yesh: Wu was pretty impressive coming through qualifying, and he has a winnable opening match. This will be entirely on Basilashvili’s racket, which has a tendency to fly off the handle. Basilashvili in 4
Botic van de Zandschulp vs Tomas Machac
Damian: It’s a pretty nasty draw for someone who’s trying to defend the biggest run of his life. Botic van de Zandschulp is the favorite to take this one, but Tomas Machac has never been as dangerous as in 2022. van de Zandschulp in 5
Yesh: van de Zandschulp had his breakthrough on the American courts last year. He hasn’t progressed further, but he’s good enough to take care of this match. van de Zandschulp in 3
Taylor Fritz vs Brandon Holt
Damian: It’s a cool story that Tracy Austin’s son qualified for the US Open, but there’s a reason why Brandon Holt hasn’t been able to establish himself at the Challenger level. He just doesn’t have the weapons to beat better players and he won’t have enough to beat Taylor Fritz. He can fight though, gotta give him that. Fritz in 3
Yesh: Fritz is in the best form of his career and in position to make a very deep run here. Watch out. Fritz in 3
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