U.S. Open Day 1 picks, including Youzhny vs. Kyrgios and Benneteau vs. Paire

Ricky: Kyrgios obviously has the talent to win this one, but he has played only two hard-court matches since upsetting Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. One of those was a 6-2, 6-2 blowout loss to Andy Murray in Toronto. Although Youzhny–especially the 2014 version of Youzhny–is beatable, the veteran’s experience should not be underestimated in this particular matchup. He generally plays his best tennis in New York, where he reached the semifinals in 2006 and 2010 and the quarters last season. Youzhny 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Steen: I’m really looking forward to this match. Youzhny always peaks for the U.S. Open, but he’s had an awful season. Kyrgios is rising and seems to be handling the new-found pressure and expectations well. Because of the differences in style and experience, it’s conceivable that one player could very well go into this match and blow the other out, but I think it will go five sets and Kyrgios will feed off the crowd to get through it. If he serves well he can bait Youzhny into enough errors to take it. Kyrgios 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.

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Benoit Paire vs. (24) Julien Benneteau

Ricky: The good news for Paire is that he is 2-0 lifetime against his fellow Frenchman. The bad news is that to say this is not peak Paire right now would be an understatement. He is at least starting to win some matches after a disastrous, injury-plagued first half of 2014…but not a lot. Paire has no belief at the moment, whereas Benneteau has a ton of it. The 32-year-old recently advanced to the Cincinnati semifinals. Benneteau 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Steen: With Paire having yet another meltdown in Winston-Salem in the midst of a poor season and Benneateau coming off a surprisingly strong run in Cincy, I don’t think this will be as competitive of a contest as it could be if Paire was playing up to the level of which he is capable. Look for Paire to self-destruct and Benneteau to be the wise veteran in this one. Benneteau 6-4, 6-1, 6-0.

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(31) Fernando Verdasco vs. Blaz Rola

Ricky: The lone lefty vs. lefty first-round matchup could be a good one. An upset possibility cannot be discounted because Verdasco has mostly been AWOL on hard courts this summer and, well, he’s Verdasco. Rola has surged up the rankings this season, but he has done his damage almost exclusively at the Challenger level. The Slovak has just two Grand Slam main-draw victories (granted both have come in 2014) and he has never played a match of any kind at the U.S. Open. Verdasco 7-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Steen: Verdasco has only played two hard-court matches this summer going into the U.S. Open and Rola is steadily improving, but I don’t think his game measures up to that of Verdasco. As a result, the Spaniard should drive his forehand through to a four-set victory. Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
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Ricky: Wawrinka has been very Wawrinka-like since winning the Australian Open. He has mixed in great results (Monte-Carlo title) with terrible ones (French Open first round) and mediocre ones (fourth round in both Indian Wells and Miami). He is not a lock like fellow top-three seeds Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to mop up early-round competition. That being said, the immediate ouster to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at Roland Garros should continue to be a wakeup call. The world No. 4 was a semifinalist last year, whereas Vesely has played–and lost–just one match in his U.S. Open career. Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.

Steen: Wawrinka will try to avoid a repeat of his ignominious round-one defeat at the French Open by getting past a young gun in Vesely, who is aiming for a marquee win to further establish himself as a threat to the big names on tour. The Swiss was not spectacular during the U.S. Open Series and he can lose focus at times, but Vesely has had limited hard-court preparation. As such, given the surface, Wawrinka should get through against the big-hitting Czech. Wawrinka 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
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