Novak Djokovic will begin his bid for the calendar-year Grand Slam when he faces Holger Rune in round one of the U.S. Open on Tuesday. Nikoloz Basilashvili and Sebastian Korda are also taking the court.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (Q) Holger Rune
Djokovic may have some flashbacks to the Wimbledon first round when he kicks off his U.S. Open campaign against Rune on Tuesday. The top-ranked Serb faced Jack Draper, a talented teenager (19) who could be a future star. Rune is one year younger than Draper and comes with even more hype. The Dane was No. 1 in the world in juniors at one point and captured the 2019 French Open boys title. Two consecutive clay-court Challenger titles this summer have Rune up to a career-ranking of 145th. Making a nice transition to hard courts, he qualified for the U.S. Open main draw by beating Lukas Lacko, Mitchell Krueger, and Mats Moraing.
Having already triumphed at the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon, Djokovic is going for the first calendar-year slam on the men’s side since 1969 (Rod Laver). The 34-year-old has not played since losing to Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreno Busta at the Olympics, but that is of no concern because he is well-rested and has made it clear through both his words and his results that he is focusing only on majors at this point. Djokovic took a moment to wake up at the All-England Club and dropped the first set to Draper before cruising in four; he won’t make the same mistake again versus Rune.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
Sebastian Korda vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili
Basilashvili and Korda will also be squaring off for the first time in their careers on Tuesday. After being a complete disaster in 2020 and the first two months of 2021, Basilashvili is finally in decent form. In fact, the 39th-ranked Georgian boasts a winning record this year (23-21). To say he remains inconsistent, however, would be a gross understatement. Over his last 17 tournaments, Basilashvili has lost his opening match more than half of the time (nine).
Korda has earned 23 of his 26 career main-tour match victories this season. The 21-year-old American is up to No. 45 in the world thanks in part to a title in Parma and a run to the Wimbledon fourth round (lost to Karen Khachanov 10-8 in the fifth). Korda has lost his opening contest only once in his last seven appearances. With what is sure to be a nice crowd behind him, Korda will likely be too consistent–especially off the backhand side–for Basilashvili’s erratic ball-bashing.
Pick: Korda in 4
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Joker wins in 3…but trouble ahead. Korda in 5.