US Open action kicks off on Sunday with a bevy of intriguing matches on both the men’s and women’s sides. No. 6 seed Ben Shelton gets his campaign underway on Arthur Ashe against Ignacio Buse. As always, we at LWOT provide the preview and prediction for all matches on the slate, with Ateet Shrivastava, Damian Kust, and Tope Oke offering their insights.<\/p>\n
Our other prediction pieces feature Novak Djokovic vs Learner Tien<\/a>, Taylor Fritz vs Emilio Nava<\/a>, Daniil Medvedev vs Benjamin Bonzi<\/a>, and Jakub Mensik vs Nicolas Jarry<\/a>. But who will advance?<\/p>\n Ateet<\/strong> Damian<\/strong> Tope<\/strong> Ateet<\/strong> Damian<\/strong> Tope<\/strong>US Open Day 1 Men’s Predictions<\/h2>\n
Fabian Marozsan vs Ugo Blanchet<\/h4>\n
\nUgo Blanchet, a qualifier making his US Open main-draw debut, has shown resilience, winning 7 of his last 10 matches in all competitions, but Fabian Marozsan is an experienced player, and his consistent power should lead him to victory.
\nPrediction: Marozsan in 4<\/em><\/p>\n
\nGood effort to qualify for a second Slam this year from Blanchet; making the main draw from that section wasn\u2019t obvious. Marozsan can sometimes hit himself off the court, and the Frenchman counter-punches well with options to take over on that whippy forehand when possible. But you can\u2019t really go against the favorite here; he\u2019s got too much quality.
\nPrediction: Marozsan in 4<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUgo Blanchet finally makes his debut in New York after failing to qualify last season. He looked solid in the qualifiers and will certainly not be a walkover against his Hungarian opponent. However, Marozsan has more experience at this level and should continue the trend of winning at least a match in most of the events he enters.
\nPrediction: Marozsan in 4<\/em><\/p>\nCamilo Ugo Carabelli vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry<\/h4>\n
\nThese two compatriots know each other\u2019s game extremely well, as they have played many times at the Futures and Challenger level. However, they have only faced off once at the tour-level, which Etcheverry won in straight sets on clay. Things can be a lot closer on hard courts, and I expect a battle in this one.
\nPrediction: Etcheverry in 5<\/em><\/p>\n
\nOn clay, they\u2019ve played some incredible classics and have been friends for the longest time. Their 13th pro meeting, but the last one on hard courts was in 2019. Etcheverry is typically the stronger player on this surface, and you kind of have to side with him. But matchups like that can get a lot trickier than they should.
\nPrediction: Etcheverry in 5<\/em><\/p>\n
\nDespite having played several times on the ITF circuits, both Argentines will meet for the first time on hardcourts, a surface on which Carabelli has looked steadier this season. However, he has retired twice within a month, and it remains to be seen which version of him turns up in New York. Considering that, I\u2019ll back Etcheverry to go through.
\nPrediction: Etcheverry in 4<\/em><\/p>\n