U.S. Open R1 previews and predictions: Federer vs. Nagal, Wawrinka vs. Sinner

Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka will help get the U.S. Open started when they take the court on Monday. Both are going up against qualifiers, as Federer faces Sumit Nagal and Wawrinka meets the more heralded Jannik Sinner.

(3) Roger Federer vs. (Q) Sumit Nagal

Federer hopes his 2019 U.S. Open campaign ends with a final against Rafael Nadal. But it will begin against Nagal during first-round action on Monday night. Nadal and Nagal obviously won’t be confused despite the similarities in their last names, as the latter is just now breaking onto the tennis scene. The 22-year-old Indian has played only four tour-level matches in his career and is still seeking his first such victory. Nagal qualified in Hamburg before falling to Richard Gasquet 6-2, 7-6(2) and he qualified for his first-ever main draw at a Grand Slam with victories over Tatsuma Ito, Peter Polansky, and Joao Menezes. The world No. 190 had previously never won a single slam qualifying match.

Will a John Millman-sized upset take place on Monday, as it did in the fourth round last summer? Almost certainly not, as Nagal is not Millman and it isn’t forecast to be especially hot or humid in New York this time around. Federer fell to Andrey Rublev in the Cincinnati third round in his only tournament since a heartbreaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon, but he is well-rested and says he is feeling great heading into the season’s final major. This will be an awesome experience for Nagal and a routine win for the 38-year-old Swiss.

Pick: Federer in 3 losing 8-10 games

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(23) Stan Wawrinka vs. (Q) Jannik Sinner

At just 18 years old, Sinner is up to No. 131 in the world and will have direct entry into the 2020 Australian Open on his mind. The Italian has won three ATP-level matches, including a 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 thriller in front of the home crowd in Rome a few months ago. Sinner lost an epic in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying to Alex Bolt via a 2-6, 7-5, 12-10 decision, but he successfully qualified at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center by beating Matteo Viola, Viktor Galovic, and Maro Vilella Martinez. Sinner’s summer also includes a Challenger title in Lexington, where he defeated none other than Bolt in the final.

Up first for the underdog on Monday is Wawrinka, the 2016 U.S. Open champion. Wawrinka is an incredible 40-12 lifetime at Flushing Meadows, with six consecutive trips to at least the third round (five of those six to at least the fourth round). The 24th-ranked Swiss has struggled just a bit since reaching the French Open quarterfinals, losing his second match at Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Montreal Masters, and the Cincinnati Masters. This will not be easy for Wawrinka, but his experience and his firepower especially of the backhand wing will be too much for Sinner.

Pick: Wawrinka in 4

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