Rafael Nadal had no trouble in his U.S. Open first-rounder and he will hope to make similar work of Andreas Seppi on Wednesday. What is likely to be a more entertaining contest will pit Benoit Paire against Marcos Baghdatis.
(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Andreas Seppi
Nadal and Seppi will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers and for the second time this summer when they meet again in round two of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 7-1 in favor of Nadal, who most recently took care of Seppi 6-3, 6-3 at the Rio Olympics. That result was nothing out of the ordinary for the Spaniard, who has won 10 consecutive sets at Seppi’s expense–eight of them no more competitive than 6-3. Nadal’s 10-set streak started after the Italian scored his lone victory via a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision eight years ago on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam.
The world No. 5 parlayed his recent win over Seppi into a fourth-place showing at the Olympics, where he also captured the doubles gold medal with Marc Lopez. Nadal was clearly too fatigued to do anything of note in Cincinnati, but he got back in business by hammering Denis Istomin 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on Monday afternoon in New York. That looks like bad news for Seppi, who advanced with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Stephane Robert. The 32nd-ranked Italian has plunged to No. 87 in the world and he will continue to be saddled with a losing record in 2016 (currently 18-19) if he falls to Nadal. There is no reason to expect anything different from what has transpired between these two veterans over the course of their last five matchups.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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(32) Benoit Paire vs. Marcos Baghdatis
Nothing screams five-setter quite like Paire playing an early-round match at the U.S. Open. The 34th-ranked Frenchman contested the sixth first-round match of his career at this tournament on Monday and it resulted in his fifth five-setter, as he outlasted a cramping Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 2-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. The only occasion on which Paire did not go to a final set in the opening round was in 2012, but he promptly went five with Philipp Kohlschreiber (lost 6-7(4), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4)) two days after beating Grigor Dimitrov in four. The win over Lajovic was much needed for the 32nd seed, who is just 21-24 on the year and had been 1-4 in his last five matches prior to arriving in New York.
Up next for Paire on Wednesday in what should be an entertaining showdown against Baghdatis. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Paire, who prevailed at the 2013 French Open and two years later in Tokyo following a three-set win for Baghdatis at the 2013 Rotterdam tournament. Baghdatis booked his spot in this contest by getting a third-set retirement from Facundo Bagnis, although the Cypriot was well on his way to victory leading 6-4, 6-2, 1-1. He is 21-17 for his 2016 campaign and has reached at least the third round in three of his last four events. The trend should continue for Baghdatis against an opponent who is short on confidence and coming off a tough five-setter.
Pick: Baghdatis in 5
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