Taylor Fritz faces Alex de Minaur in an intriguing first-round battle at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. Young American upstart Jenson Brooksby takes on Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, who was runner-up in Winston-Salem.
(14) Alex de Minaur vs. Taylor Fritz
Aussie Alex de Minaur had a good start to the season. He has two titles this year, including his most recent from the grass courts of Eastbourne. Unfortunately for the world No. 17, he has been dreadful on hard courts this summer; he played three events with a single match win to show for his efforts.
The out-of-sorts de Minaur represents an opportunity for unseeded American Taylor Fritz. The American had a good start to the summer hard-court swing, earning a pair of semifinal results in Los Cabos and Atlanta. Still, it isn’t all good news for the world No. 42. He is on a three-match losing streak of his own and will be looking to right the ship in New York.
De Minaur holds a 3-0 career edge over Fritz, not including the Aussie’s win at the Challenger event in Surbiton back in 2018. Fritz will have an advantage playing in front of the American crowd, but with the matchup clearly favoring de Minaur the Aussie should squeak this one out.
Cheryl pick: de Minaur in 5
Ricky pick: Fritz in 5
Jenson Brooksby vs. Mikael Ymer
Promising American rising star Jenson Brooksby has absolutely rocketed up the rankings this summer. The 20 year-old was ranked 165th in May of this year. Since that time, he has made the final in Newport and the semifinals in Washington, D.C. He sits at a career-high of No. 99 in the world right now, and except for a fatigue-related first-round loss in Toronto, he hasn’t really had many disappointments in the past few weeks.
Mikael Ymer also comes into New York on his best tournament to date, with a surprise run to the final in Winston-Salem last week. He bounced up 18 spots to a career high of No. 72 in the world. Ordinarily this would offer the promise of a particularly tasty first-round match, but Ymer played six matches in a week–the last of which was just a couple of days ago. Fatigue may well factor heavily into Tuesday’s result.
With Brooksby playing as well as he is and with the crowd behind him, the American should find his way into the second round.
Cheryl pick: Brooksby in 3
Ricky pick: Brooksby in 4
WWW?
Ymer in a steady groove….in 4.