{"id":72326,"date":"2024-08-25T13:00:07","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=72326"},"modified":"2024-08-25T02:01:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T06:01:23","slug":"us-open-day-1-mens-predictions-tiafoe-kovacevic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/08\/25\/us-open-day-1-mens-predictions-tiafoe-kovacevic\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open Day 1 Men’s Predictions Including Frances Tiafoe vs Aleksandar Kovacevic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Open kicks off on Monday with a whopping 32 men’s matches on Day 1. It should be an incredible day of tennis action and–as always–we here at LWOT want to share our thoughts on every match with you. We split the 32 matches between eight articles. In addition to this article, our other articles feature Novak Djokovic vs Radu Albot<\/a>, Andrey Rublev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild<\/a>, Ben Shelton vs Dominic Thiem<\/a>, Gael Monfils vs Diego Schwartzman<\/a>, Alexander Zverev vs Maximilian Marterer<\/a>, Taylor Fritz vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli<\/a>, and Holger Rune vs Brandon Nakashima<\/a>. Predicting these matches are Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will reach Round 2?<\/p>\n

US Open Day 1 Men’s Predictions<\/h2>\n

Tallon Griekspoor vs Sumit Nagal<\/h4>\n

Ateet:<\/em>
\nGriekspoor hasn\u2019t won a match in this North American hard-court swing but he has a great chance to do so in the first-round. Sumit Nagal hasn\u2019t appeared like a threat outside of clay courts and doesn\u2019t have the serve to win easy points.
\nPrediction: Griekspoor in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Damian:<\/em>
\nGriekspoor is probably the favorite in this one on hard courts, even if his form isn\u2019t particularly impressive. That\u2019s mostly as Nagal is winning about one in three matches on the main tour and hasn\u2019t been setting the world on fire. The firepower of the Dutchman will probably get him through this one in the end.
\nPrediction: Griekspoor in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesh:<\/em>
\nGriekspoor looked like he was ready for a breakthrough last year and earlier this year, though he’s somewhat stalled. Still, he’s better than Nagal and should be able to advance.
\nPrediction: Griekspoor in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

[tgdcta items=”1″ id=”170460″]<\/p>\n

Francisco Cerundolo vs Sebastian Ofner<\/h4>\n

Ateet:<\/em>
\nFrancisco Cerundolo has lost his momentum since winning the epic final against Lorenzo Musetti in Umag. His US Open preparation didn\u2019t go as planned as he failed to win a set in his two matches. Ofner on the other hand, hasn\u2019t played since the Paris Olympics. If Ofner is rusty, Cerundolo is good enough to take advantage despite his form.
\nPrediction: Cerundolo in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Damian:<\/em>
\nOfner hasn\u2019t played a single warm-up event and will be playing for the first time since the Olympics. Cerundolo tried Cincinnati and Winston-Salem but it\u2019s not like he\u2019s gained any momentum here either. On hard courts their games seem pretty close to each other quality-wise, so this could be a battle. Cerundolo has the higher ceiling.
\nPrediction: Cerundolo in 5<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesh:<\/em>
\nOn clay, Cerundolo would be a heavy favorite. On hard courts, it should be a fun match. The Argentine is still a better player, but Ofner’s bigger serve might even things up a bit on this court. Still, I’ll take the seed.
\nPrediction: Cerundolo in 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>