Novak Djokovic will contest his tournament opener on Tuesday in New York against Ricardas Berankis. Nicolas Almagro and Denis Istomin are also looking for a place in the second round.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Ricardas Berankis
Djokovic will begin his quest for a second U.S. Open title when he takes the court on Tuesday night. The top-ranked Serb is 39-7 lifetime in New York and he has been to the final in his last three appearances (won in 2011). He has been to at least the semifinals in his last six trips to Flushing Meadows and he has never lost prior to the third round. Djokovic is a solid but unspectacular 44-8 for his 2013 campaign, which includes a triumph at the Australian Open. He fell to Rafael Nadal in the Montreal semis and he suffered a surprising loss to John Isner in the Cincinnati quarters.
Up first for Djokovic is Berankis, whom he has never faced. The 23-year-old Lithuanian peaked at No. 67 in the world in May mostly due to points from 2012, but he is a modest 13-13 at the ATP level this season. Berankis finally picked up some much-needed momentum last week in Winston-Salem, where he advanced three rounds before succumbing to Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals. This may not be the easiest of first-rounders for Djokovic, but the top seed should never have to get out of cruise-control mode.
Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Denis Istomin vs. (15) Nicolas Almagro
Istomin and Almagro will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Tuesday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Istomin’s way, without the loss of a set. He advanced via second-set retirement on the grass courts of Eastbourne in 2010 before prevailing 7-6(5), 7-6(7) a month later on the clay of Hamburg. Istomin is an even 24-24 this year, which includes a semifinal showing in Memphis and four quarterfinal finishes–most recently earlier this summer in Atlanta. The 65th-ranked Uzbek is coming off a first-round loss in Winston-Salem to Guillaume Rufin.
Almagro is a stellar 32-17 for his 2013 campaign, but he has cooled off of late. The Spaniard is riding a three-match losing streak dating back to the Hamburg semifinals, in which he lost to an on-fire Fabio Fognini. Almagro lost to Radek Stepanek in the Montreal first round and to Grigor Dimitrov in his Cincinnati opener. The world No. 15 is relatively underrated on fast surfaces, but it is true that he is by far his best on clay. Istomin may be able to take advantage of a favorable draw and really make a run this fortnight.
Pick: Istomin in 5
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Seriously, what is up with Nico? This means Rafa and Ferru have to continue plugging it for Davis Cup, Nico just cannot be relied on to deliver the goods……….
I guess the guy is suffering from a crisis in confidence when it comes to DC after being responsible for their loss against the Czeks last november.