One person’s entirely personal list of intriguing first round US Open men’s matches. - UBITENNIS

One person’s entirely personal list of intriguing first round US Open men’s matches.

By skip schwarzman
14 Min Read
Marin Cilic at the 2017 US Open draw ceremony (zimbio.com)

Herewith follows an explanation of why I’d focus on these first round matches were I at the US Open on Monday. I will, in fact, be there on Tuesday, and will report on what I end up seeing. Big Four tournaments being what they are, of course, with 128 draws in both the women’s and the men’s, some of these matches will actually take place on Tuesday.

I’ve inserted the players’ rankings next to their names, all as of August 25th; to my mind this should be done for all tennis draws. If the ITF et al really want to grow the game (what a silly phrase, that), it’s just perverse to not provide the casual fan with this basic info about a match-up right next to each player’s name.

 

Ryan Harrison vs Tomas Berdych

Harrison is coming in riding a resurgence of his stalled career; after an auspicious debut at this tournament in 2010, when he beat Ivan Ljubicic in the 2nd round (yrs trly was in attendance), Harrison’s fallen way short of the top 10 future predicted for him by so many (including himself).

Some injuries, tough draws (top 40 opponents in 12 out of 17 Grand Slam tournaments), and a general crisis of confidence led Harrison to question whether he should continue on tour. But he’s back – losing in the Atlanta final to Isner, won Memphis against Nikoloz Basilashvili, and has otherwise posted reasonable if not fabulous results in 2017, going 15/18 – and this match will be a test of whether he can step up or not. Do I think he’ll likely beat Berdych, who’s on a bit of downward slope himself? It’s not impossible, but ultimately, no. In 2017 Berdych may be out of the top 10 for the first time since 2010 (!), but he’s still 33/16 on the year. Still, there’s the potential for a fine match from two players who compete hard (if not always successfully).

David Goffin vs Julien Benneteau

Goffin suffered a nasty injury at the French when his foot hit a tarp at the edge of the court and he turned his ankle, badly. Since then he’s had spotty results for a one-time (if briefly) top tenner. The 35 year old Benneteau will make him hit a lot of balls and knows how to play on hard court, but a 26 year old Goffin who’s healthy (?) and primed psychologically to compete well takes this in 3 or 4. The question is Goffin’s physical health and whether or not he’s reestablished a winning mentality.

Alijaz Bedene vs Andrey Rublev

Two players who both have something to prove: Bedene is still looking to show that he’s worthy of being on the British Davis Cup team, even if that door’s pretty much been shut and there’ve been rumors he’s begun considering playing for Slovenia again. The 19 year old Rublev, meanwhile, certainly goes into this US Open hoping to further his progress and build upon some quality 2017 wins, including his first title (Umag). A match between closely ranked players.

Roger Federer vs Frances Tiafoe

No, I’m not predicting an upset, or even a titanic match, but were I to have a night session ticket (I don’t) and choose to watch this match in Ashe Stadium (I wouldn’t, the players look like tiny ants you’re so far away, you’re better off watching on television or streaming), it’d be interesting to see how Tiafoe manages while trying to assess Federer’s status vis a vis his back and match readiness. Tifafoe can hit the ball, that’s for sure, and even in a loss he’d hit enough impressive shots to make watching worthwhile; in the long run, however, I can’t see him taking a 5 set match against a healthy Federer, who won their Miami encounter rather handily (7/6 (2), 6/3) once he’d sized up Tiafoe.

Marcos Baghdatis vs Taylor Fritz

Age versus youth yet again. The 32 year old Cypriot is 10/12 on the year; not super, but he has played some tough matches and notched a few solid wins: he’s earned 2017 Ws against Ryan Harrison, Carlo Belocq, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Jiri Vesely, and Adrian Mannarino, Besides, he’s 325/250 career, so he knows how to win. But he’s run out of gas a couple of times this year. The 19 year old Fritz, on the other hand, has the fuel of youth in his veins. His power-based game brought him wins against Benoit Paire and Cilic at Indian Wells, also hard courts, and over Mikhail Kukushkin and Albert Ramos-Vinolas at Los Cabos (again, hard court). He’s made progress this year. Will it continue in Flushing?

Marin Cilic vs Gilles Simon

Cilic: can he back up his Wimbledon finals appearance with a strong showing at the site where he won his single Big Four title in 2014? He didn’t post in Montreal’s Rogers Cup due to an adductor injury. Simon, on the other hand, has been finding lately that he can’t impress himself on opponents the way he did when he was in the top 20 (and top ten, as well). Rankings be damned, I can’t imagine either of them really is happy about who they’re playing. Simon is up in the h2h, 5/2. This match is a big question, and could be really compelling tennis.

(Well, isn’t this embarrassing. Cilic vs Simon changed due to Murray’s withdrawal, and your trusty scribe didn’t see that until after this was posted. If they’d played my comments would have been trés valid, but instead they’re worthless. Cilic is t playing Tennys Sangren as I write this, and Simon is to play Sam Querrey. That’s almost as interesting as Cilic/Simon, maybe even more so, since Querrey is enjoying a resurgence, unlike Cilic, who’s been at or near the top for some time, and Sam has pressure to keep up the consistent tennis while Simon is, as above, fighting to find his form again. Mark the Querrey/Simon match as note worthy, Cilic/Sangren much less so.)

Philip Kohlschrieber vs Benoit Paire

In 2014, at another online tennis site, I wrote this about a US Open match between Paire and Grigor Dimitrov:

(In 2012) I purposely went to watch Paire play Grigor Dmitrov, in a battle of of young shotmakers…I walked away after only a set, wondering how they could hit the ball so well yet not understand how to play the game. Both of them didn’t construct points so much as attempt to play fantabulous shots whenever possible; more often than not it wasn’t possible.

The most fundamental of tennis concepts, that of simply being the last guy to get the ball in play – in any point, in any manner – was completely foreign to both of them.

Paire is now 28, ranked 41, and down from his best ever ranking of 18. (Gasp! I would never have thought that, but it’s true, January of 2016! That’s a fact for a bar bet…..) His won/loss this year is 25/24 (not bad), with his notable victims including Fabio Fognini, Feliciano Lopez, Khachanov (semi-notable I suppose), Pablo Cuevas (on hard court, admittedly), Pablo Carrena Busta and Stan Wawrinka both on clay at Madrid. He took the first set off Nadal in their match at Roland Garros. It’s safe to say he’s retreated somewhat from his younger, wild years, but not completely, ergo his being ranked 41 and not 18.

In Philip Kohlschrieber he’s playing someone who just might be his exact opposite. Kohlschrieber, who beat Paire 6/2 6/2 in Morocco this year, on clay, is not the reverse of Paire because he simply retrieves (to characterize him that way would be unfair), but the German does understand how to construct a point, and that doing so over and over again is how one builds a win. His backhand is rightly admired (as is Paire’s two-hander), and he’s more than willing to come forwards and volley.

This is another contrast in styles, even if Paire reins in the demons that drive his often tragic flaw of having-to-make-it-interesting; Paire’s never met a tough shot he didn’t want to try versus Kohlschrieber’s not missing too many balls he should make, but lacking the shot-making heft to frequently finish points easily. The German leads 4/3 in their head-to-head. If Paire gives a performance like I saw against Pablo Carrena Busta in 2014 (don’t ask, it was ugly) then it’ll be quick work for Kohlschrieber. But if not this could be a good ‘un, another match between closely ranked players.

Bernard Tomic vs Gilles Muller

Suffice it to say that Muller’s having the year of his career (won his ever first title in 2017, among other good results, is 2 below his best-ever ranking, and is 31/16 on the year), while Tomic is careening from Ugh! moment to Ugh! moment (9/15 in 2017). This will be interesting not because I think the tennis will be particularly fascinating, though it could be, but because of the contrast between someone who’s made the most of his skills and talent, and someone who’s never managed to channel his resources. Muller leads the h2h 3/1. I’m citing this match in a similar way to not being able to look away from a train wreck.

Dimtry Tursunov vs Qualifier

Okay, how does a match against an as-of-yet unknown qualifier rank as intriguing? Because Tursunov was once known as the world’s best practice player. Because he could hit every shot, heavy, was fit, and dangerous if not entirely rock solid as a match player. Because he’s stayed around the scene long after serious injury years ago, and seeing him hit the ball can be a pleasure. Whether it will be a good match, one you’d stick around for in its entirety, is another matter.

Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Janko Tipsarevic

I’m getting tired of writing “young vs old”, but it’s entirely valid to cite it as a theme in today’s tennis, both in the ATP and WTA. Tipsarevic is coming back from an ankle injury, and while he’s been game in his efforts to reestablish himself on tour it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever reach the top 10 again. I’ve always like Tipsarevic – he never showed fear in facing anyone on tour, ever – but that “unlikely” is more like “it ain’t happening”.

Kokkinakis, on the other hand, is at the beginning of his career and already has submitted enough health insurance paperwork for injuries and surgeries to keep a paper mill busy for a month. His return to the tour has been surprisingly successful: 6/6 for the year, losing finalist in Los Cabos last week, where he beat Berdych, Fritz, and Tiafoe, went 4 sets with del Potro at Wimbledon, took out Raonic in the first round at Queens.

One guy’s clawing his way back, the other’s…..well, clawing his way back. That makes for good tennis.

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