Serena Williams vs Danka Kovinic
This will be Serena’s last tournament ever. So, hopefully, Serena will steal the show, and perhaps she can win at least a few matches. Of course she is one of the best players ever, but if you watched when she played over the last of six weeks, she won only one match, and she lost three contests. She is a little bit slow, giving that she is 40-years-old. Yes, she can throw in her famous serves, and her forehand and backhand. But if you cannot play all the time, in the practice courts and in the matches, which she did that for 25 years in the WTA, then it is almost impossible to win the U.S. Open. The last time the 23-time Grand Slam champion won a major was in the Australian Open in 2017 — that is five years ago. Maybe if Serena starts on the roll, then the fans will be overjoyed. But not for long. She is a pretty good chance to beat Kovinic, who is a decent player, but not wonderful. If Serena locks in early, then she can win in three sets. However, in the second round, she might have to play against the No. 2, Anett Kontaveit, which will be a huge challenge. Gigantic.
Taylor Fritz vs Brandon Holt
Taylor Fritz, from San Diego, has a legitimate chance to go very far. However, there are times when he is playing terrific, and other times — and he plays a lot — he can get frustrated at the end of matches and then he will miss spray errors. That is why he hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet. But when he feels it, then he can put down everyone. On Monday he will face Brandon Holt whose his mom, Tracy Austin, won the 1979 US Open when she was only 16 years old. Two years later, she won it again. She was so incredibly consistent and also, she was so intense. Her son qualified, which was almost phenomenal, but he still has a lot of work to do, as he is ranked No. 312. Can he upset Fritz? I would think there will be some fun sets, but in the end, Fritz will take him down in four sets.
Andy Murray vs Francisco Cerundolo
Will the former US Open champion go far this week? Maybe, but while Murray looks pretty good, but not great. While he has some good wins, the problem is that in two out of three sets, he can maintain it. But in the three out of five, then his legs can hurt him, given that he had to go into the surgery, and he almost retired. Murray can though, tough it out, on Monday. However, he has to face the Argentine Cerundolo, who won Bastad on clay recently and also on the hardcourts in April, he put together with some good wins at Miami, beating Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe. At the start of the year, he was No. 127, and now he is ranked No. 27, meaning that he is jumping again. There will be long rallies, and in the fifth set, Murray will nail a bunch of winners with his all-star backhand.Taylor Fritz vs Brandon Holt
Taylor Fritz, from San Diego, has a legitimate chance to go very far. However, there are times when he is playing terrific, and other times — and he plays a lot — he can get frustrated at the end of matches and then he will miss spray errors. That is why he hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet. But when he feels it, then he can put down everyone. On Monday he will face Brandon Holt whose his mom, Tracy Austin, won the 1979 US Open when she was only 16 years old. Two years later, she won it again. She was so incredibly consistent and also, she was so intense. Her son qualified, which was almost phenomenal, but he still has a lot of work to do, as he is ranked No. 312. Can he upset Fritz? I would think there will be some fun sets, but in the end, Fritz will take him down in four set
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Dominic Thiem
If anyone watched the Spaniard when he started to play, he was fit, and he does like to rally. But he wasn’t going to punch the ball on the lines because he didn’t have the pace. The five years ago at the US Open he rose up, reaching into the semis. Then again, in 2020, he was right there, knocking at the door, but he lost to Alexander Zverev in five brutal sets. Maybe he can do it now, as he has become more thoughtful. However, he has to face Thiem, who won it two years ago in Flushing Meadows. The Austrian looked so good, with his terrific forehand and his backhand, with a lot of spin by both sides. But he got hurt a number of times, so he pulled out month after month. He has beaten the Slam winners, Rafa Nadal and Djokovic, many times. Thiem does want to scratch into the top 10, eventually, but Carreno Busta will jar him down, hour after hour and he will win it in five tender sets.