Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray will kick off their 2020 U.S. Open campaigns on Tuesday. Dimitrov is going up against Tommy Paul, whom he faced at the Australian Open; Murray meets Yoshihito Nishioka.
(14) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Tommy Paul
It will be a rematch of a 2020 Australian Open thriller when Dimitrov and Paul meet again during first-round U.S. Open action on Tuesday. In the second round Down Under, Paul prevailed 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-7(3), 7-6(3) for the best Grand Slam result of his young career. The 58th ranked American is a solid 9-6 on the main tour this season, but he lost to Ricardas Berankis 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 in his Cincinnati opener last week.
Dimitrov was a question mark to even play in the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center bubble, as he had the coronavirus this summer and did not look physically fit at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown earlier this month. Nonetheless, the 20th-ranked Bulgarian did well to win a match at the Masters 1000 event (beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4) but then fell to Marton Fucsovics. In what is likely to be another competitive contest, Paul would probably have the edge from a physical standpoint in the latter stages.
Pick: Paul in 5
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Andy Murray vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Murray is set for his first Grand Slam since the 2019 Australian Open, where he temporarily “retired” before returning later that season following hip surgery. It goes without saying that the three-time major champion is a question mark right now when it comes to a best-of-five situation. For the most part, though, his health has been good in brief tennis appearances. Murray is coming off an encouraging third-round performance at the Cincinnati Masters, beating Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev in three sets before falling to eventual runner-up Milos Raonic.
This marks the first-ever meeting between Murray and Nishioka. The world No. 49 from Japan reached the third round of the 2020 Australian Open and finished runner-up in Delray Beach, so he was in fine form prior to the hiatus. But he did not play in New York last week; thus this is his first match in more than six months. That should give Murray an advantage, and the 33-year-old is playing well enough at the moment to capitalize.
Pick: Murray in 4
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Dtrov gets revenge….in 4;….and Murray in an entertaining 3.
Big grats to Murray, coming back to win after going 2 sets down! Sorry for Nishioka though. I hate it when I like both players! Very tough match, Murray looked terrible afterwards, badly in need of ice baths, which he said he didn’t think he could get at BJK center but maybe at his hotel.