Carlos Alcaraz will make his 2022 U.S. Open debut against Sebastian Baez, while Italian Lorenzo Musetti kicks off his campaign against Belgian veteran David Goffin. Alcaraz is defending quarterfinal points after what was an improbable run at the time.
(3) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Sebastian Baez
Last year in New York, Carlos Alcaraz was ranked No. 55 in the world. He made a host of fans as an unseeded player, taking out the often-controversial No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. This time it’s Alcaraz who is the No. 3 seed, and he comes in as an outside favorite to win the event. He kicks off his bid against world No. 37 Sebastian Baez from Argentina.
Baez is an up-and-comer, but his successes have largely been confined to clay for the time being. He won the event in Estoril this year, but he hasn’t yet won a match on North American hard courts despite three tournaments attempted. A showdown with the current Miami Masters champion, which Alcaraz won in March, is probably destined to go sideways for the underdog.
Still, Alcaraz has gone on record stating that the pressure of being a top seed has interrupted his flow a bit since his successes this spring.
The pressures of expectation could make this match more competitive than it might otherwise have been, with Alcaraz kicking off proceedings in Arthur Ashe stadium–the biggest venue in all of tennis. Still, it’s hard to imagine a player of Alcaraz’s caliber coming up short in this one.
Cheryl pick: Alcaraz in 3
(26) Lorenzo Musetti vs. David Goffin
David Goffin, the Belgian veteran ranked 62nd in the world, has had quite a patchy year. He had some decent showings on clay, including a tournament win in Marrakech and a run to the round of 16 in Madrid. He also made the quarters at Wimbledon but got no ranking points awarded, as the ATP elected to strip points from the tournament in response to their policy to ban players from Russia and Belarus.
Thus he comes into New York unseeded and with zero main-draw match wins on North American hard courts. He did have two qualifying wins to gain entry to the Cincinnati Masters but promptly lost in the first round to American Marcos Giron in straight sets.
Lorenzo Musetti has had a good season on clay. The Italian sits at a career-high No. 30 in the world, thanks in part to a tournament win in Hamburg last month. Still, like Goffin, wins on hard courts have been…elusive for the Italian. Two qualifying wins in Cincinnati are all he has to show for his summer hard-court efforts so far.
Although this match is unlikely to produce scintillating hard-court tennis prowess, it could be quite competitive. The courts are quick this year in New York and that could give Goffin more chance against his younger opponent than he might otherwise enjoy. Look for a real battle out on Court 12.
Cheryl pick: Goffin in 5
Ricky pick: Musetti in 5
WWW?
Baez played him tough at RG….so Alcaraz in 4;….Musetti younger & faster…in 4.
Some excellent rallies at the end of the second set.
But Alcaraz is a weird mixture of brilliant and poor.