Rafael Nadal will kick off his U.S. Open campaign as the No. 1 seed when he goes up against Dusan Lajovic on Tuesday. An all-Australian affair, meanwhile, pits recent Cincinnati runner-up Nick Kyrgios against John Millman.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Dusan Lajovic
Nadal will begin his quest for a third U.S. Open title, 16th Grand Slam overall, and second this season when he takes the court at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. The 2013 champion in New York has not been past the fourth round since, missing the event in 2014, losing a stunner to Fabio Fognini in 2015, and falling in another five-setter against Lucas Pouille last summer. This year’s version of Nadal, however, is turning back the clock. The Spaniard boasts a 49-9 record in 2017 that includes a 10th French Open title and a runner-up finish at the Australian Open.
Up first for Nadal on Tuesday is a second career contest against Lajovic, who trails the head-to-head series 1-0 after losing their only previous encounter 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in the Roland Garros fourth round three years ago. A hard court will obviously give the 85th-ranked Serb a much better shot, but not to the extent that he can be expected to seriously compete or even take a set. Lajovic is a modest 14-15 at the ATP level this season with a pair of quarterfinal appearances at 250-point events (Istanbul and Kitzbuhel). He is 0-8 lifetime against top 10 opponents and 2-21 in total sets. A date with the current world No. 1 is not going to end that trend.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-14 games
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John Millman vs. (14) Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios and Millman will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Tuesday. Aside from their country of origin, these two Australians could not be more different. Kyrgios, of course, is a combustible character who is oozing with talent throughout his big-hitting game. Millman, meanwhile, is generally considered to be one of the nicest guys on tour and he gets the absolute most out of himself even though his natural ability is not exactly off the charts. The result is a matchup in which Kyrgios is heavily favored but will have to work extremely hard in points if he is not serving well enough to win a whole host of free ones.
The world No. 17 is coming off a stellar showing in Cincinnati, where he recovered from a lingering hip issue to reach the final before losing to Grigor Dimitrov. Kyrgios had been a mere 2-5 in his seven previous matches, a stretch that included three consecutive retirements. Millman has dealt with physical problems of his own; in fact, the 28-year-old is down at No. 235 in the world mainly because he missed the first five months of this season due to a groin injury. The veteran is just 1-3 at the ATP level in 2017 and he is also a disappointing 1-3 in his last three Challenger matches this month. All signs point to one-way traffic for Kyrgios.
Pick: Kyrgios in 3
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Great now another break point! What a nightmare!
First, hats off to Maria S for her win last night….awesome tennis! Rafa in 3 and Kyrios in 3.
Maria Sharapova is Awesome!
She might reach the semis or final, but won’t win it.
Karolina Pliskova would win the title.
R. Nadal has to win this match in straight sets, if he can’t then i would be disappointed in him and my likeness for him would reduce.
Pliskova is the one ive picked for the title in my bracket, i picked her beating Halep urgh ….
Rafa is on the verge of losing the first set to this guy.
Urgh…
Sorry Alison!
Meanwhile Rafa needs to get his shit together (sigh) ….
Lol!
I like you Alison, you are a true fan.
Wake up Rafa, wake up.
If he can’t win in straight sets, he should retire.
nadal looks like he’s about to lose the first set 🙁
Doesn’t seem to be playing aggressive enough.
He seems to always do this when he’s not happy.
I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I feel like expectations are getting to Nadal.
At the start of the year, he literally had no expectations coming off a terrible end to 2016, and seemed relatively carefree. After winning the French, the expectations for Nadal to keep winning returned and after that it seemed to go downhill..
This is probably just my opinion, but I feel like the expectations of him to win so much is causing him to get nervous when he isn’t absolutely 100% or loses a set.
In other words, Nadal as of now in 5 sets would be terrified, but an early season Nadal would be able to put the lost sets behind him and continue at a high level.
I can’t watch the match. Is Nadal playing terrible, or is Lajovic playing out of his head? Or a bit of both?
Bit of both.
Lajovic drawing ton of errors from Nadal
maybe rafa should retire from playing on all surfaces that isn’t clay
I really like Rafa’s outfit tho
3 break points for nadal!
And it’s a break to love to get back on serve!
Rafa got the break. Now he needs to get it together and win this first set.
Yes he needs to win in straight sets.
Are you watching the match?
Well done Rafiiiiiiiiiiitooooooooo!
Am not a big fan or a small fan, i just like him and i want him to win today, he can lose tomorrow or next if he wants, he just needs to win in straight sets,.
7-5 or 7-6(1), 6-0, 6-0
Lol I’m so glad USO created a roof on Arthur Ashe.
I think all other play is cancelled.
Yes all other matches have been cancelled. I think they said Ostapenko’s match will be moved to Ashe after Rafa’s mstch.
As it is raining, why can’t USO lineup all the players from the pending matches outside the court and make them play and finish off their matches one by one?lol
Or just pair them up and make them play like doubles….and send them home in pairs!Ha,ha,Ha…
Seriously, when they can make Ostapenko & Arubarrena play and finish her match at Arthur Ashe, why not others? Why special consideration to only Ostapenko?
Do Rafa’s forehands seem rather shorter than normal today?
Be a lot less irritating if i could watch a Rafa match without the name Federer being mentioned all the friggin time grr ….
terrible, just HORRIFIC volley from Lajovic, and it’s set point Rafa!!!
and then Rafa DFs..*facepalm*
and he takes the first set 7-6(6)!
Vamos Rafa!
Phew. Hope he settles down now. FIRST round nerves
Rafa needs to win the 2nd & 3rd set comfortably.
Honestly if Rafito plays this way against better/stronger player’s he won’t make it.
He needs to improve his game and learn 4rm his mistakes.
so far so good
he’s up a double break in the second set, maybe he can get a bagel.
I think Moya will help though 🙂 !
He broke again baby!
1st set 7-6(6).
2nd set 6-0.
3rd set 6-00000.
Game, set, match.