U.S. Open R2 previews and picks: Paire vs. Carreno Busta, Seppi vs. Kyrgios

An intriguing pair of all-unseeded, second-round clashes will be featured on Thursday at the U.S. Open. Benoit Paire is going up against Pablo Carreno Busta and Andreas Seppi is facing Nick Kyrgios.

Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Benoit Paire

Carreno Busta and Paire will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers overall when they do battle in round two of the U.S. Open on Thursday. Paire leads the head-to-head series 3-1, including 2-0 at the ATP level and 1-0 on hard courts. They most recently faced each other last fall in Stockholm, where Paire prevailed 6-4, 6-4. It has been a tough, injury-plagued year so far for the Frenchman, who is toiling down at No. 98 in the world. However, Paire qualified in both Toronto and Cincinnati and his 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Julien Benneteau on Monday was his best of the season in terms of opponent ranking and his biggest aside from a second-round Australian Open thriller against Nick Kyrgios.

Similarly, Carreno Busta has cooled off in 2014 following breakout performances the previous two seasons. His relative slump can be attributed to full-time status on the ATP Tour, as the 23-year-old Spaniard had previously dominated the lower-level circuits. Carreno Busta is a mere 10-22 on the main tour this year, but he earned his first career Grand Slam victory on Monday by taking out Andreas Beck 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(0). This will be just Carreno Busta’s third hard-court match of the summer, and it will come on a surface on which Paire generally thrives.

Pick: Paire in 4

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Nick Kyrgios vs. Andreas Seppi

Kyrgios was one of the biggest stories of this summer’s early stages when he stunned Rafael Nadal en route to a dream run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The 19-year-old Australian’s progress was briefly slowed on the hard courts, in part due to a left-arm injury. He got blown out by Andy Murray in the Toronto second round and withdrew prior to Cincinnati qualifying. Although Kyrgios seemed to struggle just a bit physically in round one against Mikhail Youzhny on Monday, the world No. 60 managed to pull out an impressive 7-5, 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(1) victory.

Up next for Kyrgios is Seppi, whom the youngster has never faced. Seppi appears to be slowing down just a bit at 30 years old, with a 19-24 record for the season and a No. 49 ranking that is well off his career-high mark of 18th. Still, the Italian has now played seven straight tournaments since Wimbledon without losing a first-round match. He made short 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 work of Sergiy Stakhovsky in his Flushing Meadows opener. Kyrgios has the edge in talent and sheer firepower, but Seppi is a steady baseliner who likes using opponents’ pace. It will be tough for the veteran on a fast hard court, but he should have an advantage if he can keep it close and force Kyrgios into a long, physical contest.

Pick: Seppi in 5

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