U.S. Open R1 previews and predictions: Bublik vs. Thiem, Tsitsipas vs. Raonic

The U.S. Open begins on Monday in New York, where seeds Alexander Bublik and Stefanos Tsitsipas will be among those in action. They have respective showdowns on their hands against Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic.

(25) Alexander Bublik vs. Dominic Thiem

Bublik and Thiem will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the U.S. Open on Monday. Their only previous encounter also came at a Grand Slam, with Thiem prevailing 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5 at the 2019 French Open.

That contest, of course, came when Thiem was not only in his prime but also playing on clay. The Austrian went on to win the U.S. Open in 2020, but a 2021 wrist injury sent him into a downward spiral. Thiem entered this season ranked outside the top 100 and with a 13-18 record in 2023 he has climbed only to No. 82. Bublik, on the other hand, is up to 27th thanks in part to the biggest title of his career in Halle. The Kazakh has never been the most reliable player and he rarely makes things easy on himself, so this could be a competitive match. Still, if Bublik serves well he will likely manage to get through it.

Pick: Bublik in 5

(7) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Milos Raonic

At 32 years old and having battled through a whole host of injuries, Raonic is still out on the tour grinding. The Canadian missed almost two full years before returning on grass this summer, advancing one round in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and at Wimbledon. Raonic then kicked off his hard-court swing with a third-round performance in front of the home crowd in Toronto.

Up first for the former world No. 3 is Tsitsipas, who lost both of their previous meetings in 2020 (7-5, 6-4, 7-6(2) at the Australian Open and 7-6(5), 6-3 in Cincinnati). Fast forward three years and obviously it is Tsitsipas who is now much closer to his career-high mark, which is also No. 3. Although the seventh-ranked Greek hasn’t been in his best form since the end of the clay-court season, don’t forget that he reached the final of the first hard-court major in 2023 (lost to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne). Raonic may be able to serve his way to a set, but Tsitsipas should advance without too much trouble.

Pick: Tsitsipas in 4