Lucas Pouille is no stranger to U.S. Open success and he will try to win his second match of this fortnight when he faces Dan Evans on Wednesday. Yoshihito Nishioka and Feliciano Lopez are also aiming for a place in the third round.
Dan Evans vs. (25) Lucas Pouille
Pouille and Evans will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round two of the U.S. Open on Wednesday afternoon. This is without question one of Pouille’s best tournaments, as he made a run to the quarterfinals in 2016 (upset Rafael Nadal) before reaching the last 16 one summer later and the third round in 2018. The 27th-ranked Frenchman set himself up nicely for another productive fortnight by turning in a recent quarterfinal performance at the Cincinnati Masters. Pouille, who has reached at least the quarterfinals at three of the four Grand Slams (including the Australian Open semis this season), opened with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday.
Evans has made it to the second week of a slam only once (2017 Aussie Open fourth round), but he has been in fine form at smaller events throughout the 2019 campaign. The 29-year-old Brit is back up to 58th in the rankings thanks in part to a runner-up showing in Delray Beach and three Challenger finals (two titles). Evans improved to a decent 14-13 at the ATP level this season by beating Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on Monday. This should be a hard-fought and entertaining battle, with an edge going to Pouille based on his history of U.S. Open success.
Pick: Pouille in 4
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Feliciano Lopez vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Lopez turned back the clock at Queen’s Club earlier this summer and following a brief slump thereafter he may be doing the same in New York. The 37-year-old Spaniard, who triumphed at Queen’s Club in both singles and doubles, upset a red-hot Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match. Lopez had previously lost in the Wimbledon second round, Montreal first round, Cincinnati qualifying, and Washington, D.C. third round.
Up next for the world No. 61 on Wednesday is a second career contest against Nishioka, who won their only previous meeting 6-4, 6-4 at the 2016 Miami Masters. The Japanese left-hander’s hard-court summer has been consistently productive, highlighted by two match wins in Washington, D.C. (fell to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios) and a trip to the Cincinnati quarterfinals (ousted Kei Nishikori before eventually pulling out prior to the quarters due to illness). Nishioka maintained his fine form with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Marcos Giron on Monday. Lopez would win this matchup on grass, but on any other surface the counter-punching Nishioka will be too tough from the baseline.
Pick: Nishioka in 4
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Evans in 5
Lopez in 4
Nishioka and Pouille in 5
Looks like Fed’s Round 3 opponenent will like be Evans! I’m honestly quite proud of Dan Evans. He could have so easily just permanently hung his head in shame after his cocaine suspension, and never made anything of himself again. Instead, he has clearly humbled himself and decided he’s going to do everything he can to prove to everyone that he actually is a hard worker who cares about his career. Personally, I found the reaction to his cocaine incident, particularly by the British press, to be waaaaay overblown. We’ve had former world #1’s openly admit after retirement that they used cocaine or meth during their playing careers. This is a dude who just made a poor choice- a choice that had ZERO negative effect on anyone but himself. He’s human. The snooty, stuck-up British press acted so conceited about it, as if he had someone hurt anyone but himself. 🙄 But I seriously am impressed by how he has bounced back. He clearly just a human, who made a SMALL mistake that should be of no concern to anyone else, who DOES have a good work ethic and is striving to better himself. Props to you, Mr. Evans! Never mind these people who want to pretend like they have never made a mistake in their lives.