The conditions played a significant factor on Day 1 with the courts playing as slow as we have ever seen due to low temperatures and tricky winds. There was little in it for the big servers and we saw breaks of serve with extreme regularity. Things are set to go from bad to worse on Day 2 with a combination of rain, 30km per hour winds and a maximum temperature of only 21 degrees. That means more breaks of serve and some potential upsets.
Day 2: Feature Previews
Jeremy Chardy v Gael MonfilsThe French contingent have had great success at Flushing Meadows in recent years and Monfils has been a standout. He made the semi’s last year and had previously made the quarters on another two occasions. This will be the 4th meetings between them with Monfils leading the H2H 2-1. Chardy won the most recent meeting two years ago at Wimbledon but that comes as no surprise with Monfils never making it beyond the 3rd round at SW19. They met here back in 09 with Monfils winning in straight and with Chardy not having played since Wimbledon The Wolf is expecting a similar result.
Best: Sets Monfils 3-0 ($1.80)
Best: Sets Monfils 3-0 ($1.80)
Rafael Nadal v Dusan Lajovic
Nadal may be the world number 1 but there are several question marks over his form. Since winning his 10th French Open title he is just 6-3 with losses to Muller, Shapovalov and Kyrgios. He may be 49-9 on the season but if we remove his 24-1 record on clay he is just 25-8 with ZERO titles. Nadal hasn’t won a title on a surface other than clay since Doha in 2014! Recent losses will have dented his confidence and although Lajovic shouldn’t pose much of a problem he has been less than convincing in recent weeks. 8 of his last 11 first round matches at the US Open have gone over the set total and with Wolfy predicting several breaks of serve Lajovic should keep this one closer than expected.
Best: Over 27.5 games ($1.85)
Nadal may be the world number 1 but there are several question marks over his form. Since winning his 10th French Open title he is just 6-3 with losses to Muller, Shapovalov and Kyrgios. He may be 49-9 on the season but if we remove his 24-1 record on clay he is just 25-8 with ZERO titles. Nadal hasn’t won a title on a surface other than clay since Doha in 2014! Recent losses will have dented his confidence and although Lajovic shouldn’t pose much of a problem he has been less than convincing in recent weeks. 8 of his last 11 first round matches at the US Open have gone over the set total and with Wolfy predicting several breaks of serve Lajovic should keep this one closer than expected.
Best: Over 27.5 games ($1.85)
Marcos Baghdatis v Taylor Fritz
The home crowd will be right behind teenage American Taylor Fritz but as has been the case in recent week The Wolf is more than happy to back against him. He is 0-6 in Grand Slam matches and faces a man with a tonne of experience in best of 5 sets tennis. Moreover, the conditions will limit the amount of free points that Fritz can generate off his serve and longer rallies are nothing but bad news for the American. The Wolf is shocked to see Baghdatis as the outsider – especially after his run to the 4th round here a year ago.
Best: Baghdatis WIN ($2.00)
The home crowd will be right behind teenage American Taylor Fritz but as has been the case in recent week The Wolf is more than happy to back against him. He is 0-6 in Grand Slam matches and faces a man with a tonne of experience in best of 5 sets tennis. Moreover, the conditions will limit the amount of free points that Fritz can generate off his serve and longer rallies are nothing but bad news for the American. The Wolf is shocked to see Baghdatis as the outsider – especially after his run to the 4th round here a year ago.
Best: Baghdatis WIN ($2.00)
Ryan Harrison v Tomas BerdychSurprisingly they have met twice already this season. Berdych was victorious on both occasions and maintains a perfect 3-0 record in their H2H. The Birdman has won 8 of the 10 sets contested but is coming off back to back losses. There have been signs of struggle since his return from a minor rib injury and the 6-0 bagel in the deciding set against Del Potro is concerning to say the least. The Overs is 3-0 in their previous encounters and that trend should continue. This one could get very interesting.
Best: Over 37.5 games ($1.80)
Best: Over 37.5 games ($1.80)
John Millman v Nick KyrgiosA pair of Aussies clashing at Grand Slam level has been a thing of the past in recent years and these tow bring very different style of tennis with them to the court. Kyrgios is coming off a dramatic run at the Cincinnati Masters where he posted win sss over Goffin, Dolgopolov, Karlovic, Nadal and Ferrer before going down to Dimitrov in the final. He posted a 4-0 tiebreak record during the tournament and it is his serve which will again hold the key. The reason for this is his inability to break serve. Over the last year he has won just 18.3% of return games which leaves him down in number 69 for the respective statistic. It means we will continue to see long sets and several tiebreakers.
Best: Over 34.5 games ($1.85)
Best: Over 34.5 games ($1.85)
Roger Federer v Frances Tiafoe
What a year it has been for Roger Federer. He will begin his quest for a 20th Grand Slam under lights and will no doubt be scheduled at night for each of his matches – a significant advantage. He is a 5 time winner here but has not claimed the title since 2008. That being said he has historically been a very fast starter. His last 12 first round matches here have ended in straight sets victories. He is also 14-0 this year at Grand Slam level this year and after taking several weeks off following Montreal he will be fresh and perfectly prepared. Tiafoe held his own in a 7-6 6-3 loss to Federer earlier this year in Miami and has held nothing back in recent weeks. He beat Zverev in Cincinnati before taking it to Isner. He has a big game and is not shy to let fly. We saw King take it to Zverev early and The Wolf is predicting something similar. There is huge value around backing a tiebreaker in the 1st set!
Best: Tiafoe +8.5 ($1.73)
Value: 1st Set Correct Score 7-6 ($5.50)
What a year it has been for Roger Federer. He will begin his quest for a 20th Grand Slam under lights and will no doubt be scheduled at night for each of his matches – a significant advantage. He is a 5 time winner here but has not claimed the title since 2008. That being said he has historically been a very fast starter. His last 12 first round matches here have ended in straight sets victories. He is also 14-0 this year at Grand Slam level this year and after taking several weeks off following Montreal he will be fresh and perfectly prepared. Tiafoe held his own in a 7-6 6-3 loss to Federer earlier this year in Miami and has held nothing back in recent weeks. He beat Zverev in Cincinnati before taking it to Isner. He has a big game and is not shy to let fly. We saw King take it to Zverev early and The Wolf is predicting something similar. There is huge value around backing a tiebreaker in the 1st set!
Best: Tiafoe +8.5 ($1.73)
Value: 1st Set Correct Score 7-6 ($5.50)
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