Monday used to be the start of the tournament, but now–following in the footsteps of the Australian Open and French Open–it’s Day 2 of the U.S. Open. Sunday was the grand opening of a three-day first round, and now it continues with another packed schedule of tennis. The order of play includes Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper, Madison Keys, and Venus Williams.
Here are my picks for two of Monday’s best matchups.
Reilly Opelka vs. (2) Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz drew an assignment that nobody wanted in round one of the U.S. Open. Opelka is never fun to play against–especially right away in a tournament. The 6’11” American can drop a few bombs into the service box and you can find yourself on the next flight hope. Obviously the chances of that happening to Alcaraz are slim, but he would still rather see just about anyone else on the other side of the net on Monday night.
Opelka is playing pretty well at the moment, too. The world No. 67 has posted wins this summer over Daniil Medvedev (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Tomas Machac (Toronto), and Alex de Minaur (Cincinnati). Meanwhile, Alcaraz is coming off a title in Cincinnati–where he benefited from illnesses suffered by both Alexander Zverev (semis) and Jannik Sinner (final). The second-ranked Spaniard will likely break down Opelka in the end, but this contest could be interesting for a while.
Pick: Alcaraz in 4
Joao Fonseca vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
This is a marquee matchup between two of the best unseeded players in the draw. Fonseca is making his main-draw debut at the U.S. Open after losing in the final round if qualifying last summer. The 19-year-old Brazilian is in solid form right now (third round at Wimbledon, third round in Cincinnati), although he is not as on fire as he was earlier in the season. He comes in at No. 45 in the world, just three spots behind his opponent.
Kecmanovic has never fared well in New York. The 25-year-old Serb is 4-6 lifetime in the main draw and–not including a retirement–has not beaten anyone ranked better than 80th at this event since 2019. Kecmanovic is a rock-solid baseline, but he doesn’t have the same kind of firepower a Fonseca. This match will be on the teenager’s racket; if he plays well, he’ll win it. Fonseca may be playing well enough–just barely–to do it.
Pick: Fonseca in 5
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.