The struggling Felix Auger-Aliassime will take on American Mackenzie McDonald in his 2023 U.S. Open debut match on Monday. Sebastian Korda will kick off his New York bid against Marton Fucsovics.
(15) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Mackenzie MacDonald
Felix Auger-Aliassime has had a tough time of it of late. The world No. 15 is a miserable 14-14 on the season, with a few wins on North American hard courts coming into the U.S. Open. He won a single match between the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters, a first-round victory over Matteo Berrettini. Unfortunately for Auger-Aliassime, he won’t be able to ease into the final Grand Slam of the season.
American Mackenzie McDonald has had a fantastic run-up to New York. He was a quarterfinalist in Toronto and made the third round in Cincinnati. At this point of the year, the world No. 40 will not go into this match against Auger-Aliassime as an underdog even though the Canadian does have the higher ranking. McDonald is playing much better hard-court tennis and Auger-Aliassime has still not found his game since coming back from injury.
Cheryl pick: McDonald in 4
Ricky pick: McDonald in 3
(31) Sebastian Korda vs. Marton Fucsovics
Sebastian Korda is going to get a repeat shot at Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics for a second week running. The world No. 31 clashed with Fucsovics last week in Winston-Salem in the round of 16 and Korda won that encounter in straight sets. The American withdrew from last week’s event prior to his semifinal match with Jiri Lehecka with an injury, but it appears it was just a precautionary measure ahead of the U.S. Open.
Korda started off the season strong with a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open, but injury kept him sidelined until part of the way through the clay-court swing. His performance in Winston-Salem was his best result in months.
Fucsovics, the world No. 57, had an impressive showing on the grass courts of Stuttgart but his hard-court results have been a bit on the anemic side. His Winston-Salem third-round loss to Korda was his best hard-court result of the summer. With Korda’s form finally showing signs of improvement and with the confidence of having just beaten Fucsovics, this one should go to the No. 31 seed.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 3
Ricky pick: Korda in 4
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