Potential sleepers, reactions to the top stars’ performances at US Open Day 1

The US Open finally kicked off today. Here are a few potential sleeper picks after watching their impressive wins, as well as a look at the top five seeds and how some of them fared today.

Tennis has been in a state of confusion for six months. The US Open’s first day began this morning with the overarching feeling of “There was a Grand Slam today?”. Which, in all honesty, is a perfectly natural sensation. Keep in mind, the Western & Southern Open only ended on Saturday, and while all players aren’t in any need of travel, it still feels odd to have two major tournament back-to-back as they are currently.

Add that onto this past weekend’s PTPA situation that swept the entire tennis community and you’ve got a recipe for a forgotten major championship sitting on the doorstep. Nevertheless, the year’s second Grand Slam kicked off today and saw half of the ATP’s opening-round take place across 32 different matches.

American Sleeper Picks

Among the many matches that took place today, one slipped through the cracks as both an impressive win, as well as a potential start to a 2nd-week run. Jack Sock, who reached a career-high World #8 ranking in 2017, has yet to break into the second week of a major but after a tough, five-set victory over Pablo Cuevas (3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6), it’s clear that his game is beginning to shape at exactly the right time.

While he’s not the most likely underdog pick given his injury history and lack of success over the last couple of years, Sock (currently World #398) has something to prove. To make a run, however, he’ll have to fight off a potential Round 3 meeting with 5th-seeded Alexander Zverev.

Out of all of the top five players in the draw, Zverev is the most inconsistent of the group. After losing to Andy Murray at last week’s Western & Southern Open and struggling to a close victory over Kevin Anderson today, it’s entirely possible for Sock to pull it off if his game is 100% on. The American will face #32 Adrian Mannarino in Round 2.

Another sleeper pick to break into Week 2 has a much more favorable draw and has been playing much better as of late. Taylor Fritz, seeded 19th in this year’s tournament, needed four sets to notch his win but eventually got it done against Dominik Koepfer, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Fritz has a favorable draw ahead of him as he looks to get past the third round for the first time in his career.

With his win today, he’ll face Giles Simon for a spot in the 3rd Round. From there, he’s projected to face 12th-seeded Denis Shapovalov. Fritz has yet to get a win over the young Canadian star but given his extreme hot-and-cold spells that make way to big wins or confusing losses, Fritz certainly has a shot to pull the upset. Shapovalov had trouble defeated Sebastian Korda, needing four sets to do so.

If Fritz is able to sneak by in Round 4, he’ll yet again have a decently favorable projected matchup and will be pitted against David Goffin. Goffin has struggled this season and has only gotten past the Round 16 once all season in 5 attempts (Marseille 250 event semifinals appearance). His most recent blunder came last week, where he lost to Jan-Lennard Struff in “Cincinnati”. Goffin continued to struggle today and looked sloppy in a four-set victory. Fritz has the ability to out-hit Goffin from the ground and on serve; it’s quite possible given the current state.

Steve Johnson was able to overcome 16th-seed, John Isner, in a 4-hour epic that saw him save all five break points he faced while fighting off Isner’s 52 aces (18 in the first set alone). It’s arguably the biggest win of Johnson’s career and the fact that he was able to break Isner while holding in all 28 of his service games speaks volumes to this win.

On the fast courts of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, Iner was regarded as one with the potential to break through for a deep run given his prowess on serve. His chance is spent, however, and Johnson will move to face Ricardas Berankis in Round 2.

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State of the Top 5 – Day 1 

Three of the ATP’s top five players took the court today – (1) Novak Djokovic, (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas, and (5) Alexander Zverev. As discussed before, Zverev had a tough first-round opener against Kevin Anderson but got it done in four sets.

Out of the three, Tsitsipas looked the most solid as he took down Albert Ramos-Vinolas in 1:40. Tsitsipas’ serve was hotter than it ever has been; he finished with 12 aces and a 90% first serve point win (35-of-39), all the while committing zero double faults. He served 61% for the match and never faced a break point.

"“I had a clear picture of what I wanted to do out there. I was able to get my returns very deep, which gave me a psychological advantage in the match,” Tsitsipas said post-match."

If his prowess on serve continues, he’ll be an increasing threat to upset Djokovic in the semifinals if they both reach.

On the subject of the undefeated World #1, Djokovic continued his flawless season with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 win over Damir Dzuhmur in just under two hours. What consistently proves to be true is that the scoreboard never reflects what actually goes on when Djokovic is on the court. During the second set, The pair engaged in a gargantuan nine-deuce game that Dzuhmur eventually won for a hold. It could’ve given him the momentum he needed to take the set but was quickly taken out on his next chance to hold.

Once again, the third set proved just the same. A 6-1 win for Djokovic might’ve looked like easy work. Instead, it was a 35-minute encounter where Djokovic capitalized on only 3-of-8 break points and served only 44%. He bruised Dzuhmur on the return in the set, finishing with 60% of return points won.

Despite everything, it was a routine victory that moved his win total up to 23 on the season. He’ll face Kyle Edmund in Round 2 with a potential rematch with Jan-Lennard Struff (who he routed last week) in Round 3.

Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, seeded 2nd and 3rd, will both play tomorrow in hopes of continuing the Grand Slam success that they’ve both had in the last year. Thiem was drubbed by Filip Krajinovic in his opening match last week and many speculated that he was slipping away as one of the favorites entering the US Open. Thiem will try and bounce back tomorrow against Jaume Munar.

Medvedev put on a solid show last week but was booted in the quarterfinals in three sets by Roberto Bautista-Agut. The defending finalist at this event begins his run against Federico Delbonis.

Marquee Matchups – Day 2:

Noon EST- Arthur Ashe Stadium: Andy Murray vs Yoshihito Nishioka

2:15 PM – Louis Armstrong Stadium: (2) Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar

5: 30 PM – Court 17: (6) Matteo Berrettini vs Go Soeda

8:15 PM – Arthur Ashe Stadium: (3) Daniil Medvedev vs Federico Delbonis