The final major of the year is finally here and it promises to be extremely exciting with the world’s top 3- Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray- all in good form- here are my predictions for the tournament!
First Quarter
Projected Q/F: (1st) Novak Djokovic vs (8th) Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic is aiming for his 3rd grand slam title of the year and certainly has a good opportunity early on here. He should be very comfortable in his opener, and should also see off either Vasek Pospisil or Andreas Haider-Maurer in the second round. He should also be able to see his expected 3rd round opponent, 25th seed Andreas Seppi- He should be able to see off Tommy Paul and then either Teymuraz Gabashvill or Pablo Andujar. He is then expected to face 14th seed David Goffin, who nearly beat him in Cincinnati, in the 4th round. Goffin should see off Simone Bolelli in the 1st round and then should beat either Joao Sousa or Ricardas Berankis in the second round. What also could help Goffin is that his expected 3rd round opponent, 23rd seed Roberto Bautista Agut, isn’t in great form this year and faces Winston-Salem finalist Pierre-Hughes Herbert in his opener, with dangerous opponents Jerzy Janowicz and Pablo Carreno Busta also facing off in this section.
It’s not been a great year for Rafael Nadal, and the 8th seed has an extremely difficult opening match against the talented Borna Coric. Should he come through that one he should see off either Elias Ymer or Diego Schwartzman in the second round and is then expected to face 32nd seed Fabio Fognini, who has beaten Nadal twice on clay this year but is extremely erratic and has a tough opener against Steve Johnson. Nadal would then be expected to face 10th seed Milos Raonic in the 4th round- the Canadian hasn’t had a good year but should be able to beat the tricky Tim Smyczek in the first round, and then either Fernando Verdasco or Tommy Haas in the 2nd round. His expected 3rd round opponent, 18th seed Feliciano Lopez, played well in Cincinnati but has been in generally poor form and plays the same person who knocked him out of Wimbledon- Nikoloz Basilashvili. Mardy Fish, playing his last tournament, is also here and has a good opportunity against Marco Cecchinato in his opening match.
Prediction: Djokovic def Raonic
Second Quarter
Projected Q/F: (4th) Kei Nishikori vs (7th) David Ferrer
This section is by far the most open in the draw. 4th seed Kei Nishikori, runner-up last year, withdrew from Cincinnati and it will be interesting to see what shape he is in. Nishikori has a difficult opener against the talented Benoit Paire but if he comes through that one, he should see off Marsel Ilhan or Radek Stepanek in the 2nd round. He is expected to face 26th seed Tommy Robredo in the 3rd round- Robredo should see off Michael Berrer in the 1st round, but would then have a very tricky match against Aleksandr Dolgopolov or Sam Groth in the 2nd round. Nishikori is expected to face 16th seed Gael Monfils in the 4th round, and the Frenchman should see off Illya Marchencko in the 1st round and then James Millman or Sergiy Stakhovsky in the 2nd round; however it’s always hard to predict what will happen with Gael. If the seedings hold, he will have a blockbuster 3rd round clash with 19th seed and fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who should see off Jarko Nieminen and then either Lukas Lacko or Marcel Granollers.
It’s really hard to know what to expect with David Ferrer coming into this tournament; he hasn’t played since Nottingham in June. Assuming he is healthy, he should have no problems against Radu Albot in the 1st round and should also be extremely comfortable against Filip Krajinovic or Alejandro Gonzalez in the second round. However he could be severely tested if the seeds hold and he faces 27th seed Jeremy Chardy in the 3rd round- Chardy reached the semi-finals in Montreal and should have no problems against Ryan Shane in the 1st round, though things would get more difficult against Martin Klizan or Florian Mayer in the 2nd round. Should Ferrer get through he is then expected to face 9th seed and defending champion Marin Cilic. Whilst Cilic hasn’t had a great year, her should be comfortable against Guido Pella and then Lucas Pouille or Evgeny Donskoy. He’s then expected to face another man not in form- 17th seed Grigor Dimitrov- in the 3rd round. Whilst Dimitrov may not have enough to see off Cilic, he should see off Matthew Ebden in his opener, though things may be a bit tougher against Yen-Hsun Lu or Mikhail Kukushkin.
Prediction: Nishikori def Cilic
Third Quarter
Projected Q/F: (5th) Stan Wawrinka vs (3rd) Andy Murray
Stan Wawrinka has been in subdued form so far in this summer hard court season, though he has a decent draw here. He should be comfortable against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his opening match and then should also ease past James Duckworth or Hyeon Chung in the 2nd round. However he is expected to have 28th seed Jack Sock in the 3rd round, which could be a difficult match up for the 5th seed. However Sock won’t have an easy opening match against Victor Estrella Burgos, and if he wins that one could face the tricky Gilles Muller in the 2nd round. Should Wawrinka make the last 16 he would be expected to face 11th seed Gilles Simon, who has been consistent this year. He has a tricky 1st round match against Donald Young, and if he wins that one he would face either the talented Ernests Gulbis or Aljaz Bedene- he beat Simon in Winston-Salem last week. Should Simon get through those two matches he is expected to face 22nd seed Viktor Troicki, who should see off Francis Tiafoe in the 1st round and then Ryan Harrison or Rajeev Ram in the 2nd round.
Andy Murray has been in great form this year and certainly is a big contender for the title here. He has a potentially difficult opener against Nick Kyrgios, though Murray has been comfortable in his three previous meetings against Kyrgios and little should change this week. He should then be extremely comfortable against Adrian Mannarino or Konstantin Kravchuk in the 2nd round and should also off his expected 3rd round opponent, 30th seed Thomaz Bellucci, in the 3rd round- Bellucci has a potentially difficult opener against James Ward, and if he wins that one he may not have it easy against Paul-Henri Mathieu or Yoshihito Nishioka in the 2nd round. Murray is expected to face 15th seed Kevin Anderson, who won Winston-Salem on saturday, in the 4th round. Anderson should beat Andrey Rublev in the 1st round and then should also beat Santiago Giraldo or Austin Krajicek in the 2nd round. He could have a difficult 3rd round match against 20th seed Dominic Thiem, who should beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the 1st round and then Denis Istomin or Benjamin Becker in the 2nd round.
Prediction: Murray def Wawrinka
Fourth Quarter
Projected Q/F: (6th) Tomas Berdych vs (2nd) Roger Federer
Tomas Berdych has had a consistent year overall but wasn’t great during Montreal and Cincinnati and will be looking for much better form here. He should cruise past Bjorn Fratangelo in the 1st round but could have a much more difficult 2nd round match against Dennis Kudla or Jurgen Melzer. He should, however, come through that match and his expected 3rd round opponent, 31st seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, has been injured recently and could have a difficult opener against Janko Tipsarevic, with dangerous players Sam Querrey or Nicolas Mahut waiting in the 2nd round. Should Berdych get to the 4th round he could have a very tricky match against 12th seed Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman should see off Thanasi Kokkinakis and then either Robin Haase or Dustin Brown in the 2nd round, though could have an extremely difficult match against 24th seed Bernard Tomic in the 3rd round. Tomic has been in good form this year and should beat Damir Dzumhur in the 1st round, though could face Lleyton Hewitt in the 2nd round- It’s former champion Hewitt’s last ever appearance at Flushing Meadows.
Roger Federer played extremely well in Cincinnati and many are saying this tournament could bring his long-awaited 18th grand slam title. He should be comfortable against Leonardo Mayer in the 1st round and then either Marcos Baghdatis or Steve Darcis in the 2nd round. He is then expected to face 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 3rd round. Kohlschreiber was close to beating Federer in Halle earlier this year, but Federer has mostly been comfortable against the German and the 29th seed has a very difficult opener against the talented rising star (and fellow German) Sascha Zverev, with the dangerous Lukas Rosol a possibility in the 2nd round. Federer is then expected to face 13th seed John Isner in the 4th round, which could be a very difficult match for Federer- if it happens. Isner should beat Malek Jaziri in the 1st round and should also beat John-Patrick Smith or Mikhail Youzhny in the 2nd round. However he is set to have an extremely difficult match against 21st seed Ivo Karlovic in the 3rd round- Karlovic has been in great form this year, and should see off Federico Delbonis in the 1st round and then Jiri Vesely or Paolo Lorenzi in the 2nd round.
Prediction: Federer def Gasquet
Semi-Finals
Djokovic def Nishikori
Federer def Murray
Finals
Djokovic def Federer
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