U.S. Open R2 previews and predictions: Dimitrov vs. Nakashima, Coric vs. Brooksby

It’s second-round action on Thursday at the U.S. Open, as Grigor Dimitrov takes on American Brandon Nakashima. Cincinnati champion Borna Coric will battle another American up-and-comer in Jenson Brooksby.

(17) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Brandon Nakashima

Grigor Dimitrov has not had a promising summer hard-court swing. The world No. 19 has played five events with just three match wins, including his first-round victory this week over Steve Johnson. The Bulgarian seemed to right the ship earlier this season with some solid results on clay, including a semifinal at the Monte-Carlo Masters, but those haven’t continued this summer.

All of this spells opportunity for Brandon Nakashima. The young American is ranked 69th in the world. And though he is ranked far below Dimitrov, he is not a significant underdog in this one. First, Nakashima will be playing in front of the home crowd. Furthermore, he has just played more consistent hard court tennis recently. He made the quarters in Atlanta and another in Los Cabos. He didn’t fare well in Montreal or Cincinnati, but the first-round losses were against the in-form Cameron Norrie and tough Russian Aslan Karatsev.

Dimitrov and Nakashima played earlier this year at the Rome Masters. Dimitrov won that encounter in straight sets, but give current form for Thursday’s match, the edge goes to Nakashima.

Cheryl pick: Nakashima in 4

Ricky pick: Nakashima in 4

(25) Borna Coric vs. Jenson Brooksby

One of the more intriguing matches in Thursday’s draw is this second-round encounter between Borna Coric of Croatia and American Jenson Brooksby. Coric is one of the surprises of the summer. He began playing the Cincinnati Masters ranked 152nd in the world. By the end of the week he snagged the title, beating four seeded players–including Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He is now ranked 29th, which has him seeded.

Jenson Brooksby is a good hard-court player with a bit of an unconventional game. He had a run to the final in Atlanta this summer, but he finds himself down to the No. 43 ranking, owing to disappointing results since.

Coric doesn’t seem to have carried his seed-defeating form into New York, though. The Croat spent five sets battling Frenchman Enzo Couacaud in the first round. Although he got the eventual victory, his form was quite clearly not what it was when he was able to inflict so much damage in Cincinnati.

This might end up being a real battle. Look for four or even five sets, with Coric snagging the win.

Cheryl pick: Coric in 4

Ricky pick: Coric in 4