September 9th - US Open Wrap Up
Men's Singles: 71-56 (picked Nadal correctly to win title)
Women's Singles: 75-52 (had 2 of 4 semifinalists correct)
Men's Doubles: 27-36
Women's Doubles: 33-30 (had one finalist correct)
Mixed Doubles: 21-10
Women's Singles
New York never fails to disappoint in late August/early September and once again, that proved to be the case in 2019. 19-year-old (!!) Canadian Bianca Andreescu got the better of Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5 to win her first Grand Slam and continue a remarkable 45-4 season that includes titles in Indian Wells, Toronto & now Flushing Meadows. I'm not surprised that Andreescu won, as she's never lost to a top ten player in her career--by the way, Bibi is now up to No.5 in the world rankings. But I'm a little surprised that Serena is 0 for her last 4 major finals and 0 for 8 in sets over those championship matches, and Saturday's second set of 7-5 was the closest Serena has come to winning a set over that quartet of matches.
2018 Wimbledon - lost to Angie Kerber 6-3, 6-3
2018 US Open - lost to Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4
2019 Wimbledon - lost to Simona Halep 6-2, 6-2
2019 US Open - lost to Bianca Andreescu 6-3, 7-5
Men's Singles
I look at this tournament as a milestone for the younger generation. Yes, 33-year-old Rafael Nadal still won the title and hoisted his 4th US Open trophy (19th Grand Slam overall). But it was the closest we've seen a true next-generation threat coming to breaking the Big 3's stranglehold on the sport over the last 36 months. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev was on a 12-match win streak this summer and pushed Rafa to five grueling, painful and beautiful sets of tennis over the course of nearly five hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium Sunday evening. The scoreboard read 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 in favor of Nadal.
Once the great Spainiard had a two-sets-to-love lead, there was seemingly no hope for Medvedev, who entered 0-4 in his Slam career in five-setters. But the 23-year-old Russian showed exceptional fight on the heels of just over 20 hours of court time in Queens. Medvedev hit consistently from both wings and changed up his strategy coming into net more. There were break points galore, long points and championship points before all was said and done. So yes, Medvedev is now the closest young player to winning his first Slam, eclipsing clay court master Dominic Thiem's two finals at Roland Garros. But it also means that Nadal (5), Novak Djokovic (4) and Roger Federer (3) have won 12 straight Grand Slams dating back to the Australian Open in 2017. We are still in the midst of this legendary, unparalleled run by the Big 3.
Doubles
Much like Mike Bryan & Jack Sock in 2018, Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah capped off an epic summer winning both Wimbledon and the US Open. The Colombian duo lost just one set en route to their second major title, a 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 8 seeds Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos. Every year it seems like there's 2-3 dominant doubles teams, but this season was undoubtedly the year of the Colombians.
The women's doubles final was a battle of top ranked singles players (who are all very good at doubles in their own right). No. 4 seeds Elise Mertens & Aryna Sabalenka took down No. 8 team of Ash Barty and Vika Azareka 7-5, 7-5 for their first Grand Slam title as a team. The singles rankings of those four?
No. 1 - Barty
No. 13 - Sabalenka
No. 24 - Mertens
No. 42 - Azarenka
Compare that to the singles rankings of the four men's doubles finalists (three doubles specialists) and you can highlight some of the differences in the men's and women's games.
No. 100 - Granollers
NR - Zeballos, Cabal, Farah
Shoutout to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray for successfully defending their US Open Mixed Doubles title and for Murray's third straight at the tournament. That gives Bethanie four mixed major titles and five in women's doubles. Murray is in a similar spot with five mixed Slams and a pair of men's doubles titles.
Thank you for reading along over the last two weeks. Been fun watching and writing about the best sport in the world, and I'll continue to update this page throughout the year with more tennis notes, especially during the Davis Cup & Year End Championships.
September 3rd - Halfway to the Semifinals
Men's Singles: 68-54
Women's Singles: 74-48
Men's Doubles: 27-36
Women's Doubles: 31-25
Mixed Doubles: 21-7
After a little hiatus, the blog is back with a post-Labor Day weekend update. Just one of the Big 3 men remain in the tournament after Novak Djokovic retired down two sets to Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round. Then late on Tuesday night Roger Federer committed over 60 unforced errors in an unexpected loss to world No. 78 Grigor Dimitrov. That sets up a semifinal between the Bulgarian and No. 5 Daniil Medvedev who's won 11 straight matches despite nursing a quad injury. Medvedev is 19-2 this summer and the favorite to make his first Grand Slam final. The other two quarters today feature the lone remaining Big 3 man in Rafa Nadal against the feisty Diego Schwartzman with the winner getting either Italian Matteo Berrettini or Frenchman Gael Monfils. This is Monfils's ninth major QF or better with four coming in Flushing Meadows.
A cool note about Monfils: his girlfriend is world No. 5 Elina Svitolina who just reached her second ever (and second consecutive) Grand Slam SF with good wins over Madison Keys and Jo Konta. Svitolina's reward is a very in-form Serena Williams who dismissed Qiang Wang in the shortest match of the tournament (6-1, 6-0 in 44 minutes). In the top half of the bracket, 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu became the favorite to reach the finals when No. 1 Naomi Osaka lost to Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. Side note: this is the first time in the Modern Era that both top singles seeds failed to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open. Andreescu faces Elise Mertens while Bencic meets Donna Vekic.
I always find this fascinating. The ages of the remaining men (23, 28, 23, 33, 27, 33) compared with the ages of the remaining women (22, 23, 19, 23, 24, 37). Seemingly the women's game is dominated by players in their early 20s...and Serena. The men's side is more players between 27 and 33 with a few younger guys that break through and most of the time the 38-year-old Federer.
Wednesday's Picks
I'll take Bencic in three sets over Vekic and Andreescu in two close sets to beat Mertens. I think Monfils is too much for Berrettini in a four set victory, while Nadal should handle Schwartzman in three sets, however I wouldn't be surprised to see the Argentinian take a set.
Favorites
After losing in her last three Grand Slam finals, I don't see anyone beating Serena Williams. And I think we're destined for a Serena-Andreescu rematch. Remember Williams had to pull out in the Toronto final after four games, handing Andreescu another big title. On the men's side, this is absolutely Rafa Nadal's tournament to lose. I think we could see a rematch of the Montreal final between Nadal and Medvedev but it would take a monumental effort to beat Rafa in three of five sets the way he's hitting right now.
August 30th - 75 Matches & Coco Does it Again
Men's Singles: 58-38
Women's Singles: 60-36
Before we get into Thursday's catch-up day at the US Open, can we talk about this shot from Jack Sock? The American is probably the best doubles player in the world and just nonchalantly can pull shots like this out once in a while. Sock & partner Jackson Withrow upset 11 seeds Ivan Dodig & Filip Polasek in two tiebreakers.
Back to singles, most of the big names are still in the tournament. Djokovic, Medvedev, Federer, Nishikori, Zverev and Nadal. Just three American men are left with John Isner, Tennys Sandgren and Dennis Kudla. (Side note: can we get a Sandgren & Kudla doubles partnership going, just for the audible pleasure of saying Tennys & Dennis)? I digress...but even with the Big 3 and nine of the top 15 seeds left, the third round matchups are less than palatable. There's exactly ONE seed vs seed matchup, as just 15 ranked players made it through (No. 14 Isner vs No. 22 Cilic). Still there are some exciting matches to the tune of Kyrgios-Rublev, Nishikori-de Minaur & Goffin-Carreno Busta.
The women's draw has gone more to form, with 22 of the 32 seeds still alive in the third round and eight all-seeded matches. Of course the eye popping matchup is No. 1 Naomi Osaka against 15-year-old Coco Gauff, who just improved to 5-1 at Grand Slams in her young career (3-0 in three setters). Fellow American Taylor Townsend recorded her biggest career win with a third set tiebreak victory over No. 4 Simona Halep. Townsend is a serve and volleyer and came to net 105!! times in the win. In my eyes the best match should be the all-American battle of No. 10 Madison Keys and No. 20 Sofia Kenin.
August 29th - Rain on Wednesday Sets Up PACKED Thursday
10...that's the number of matches that were completed on Wednesday at the National Tennis Center. And one was a retirement (Dimitrov advanced when Coric pulled out). It rained all day and while there were some windows to start matches on the outer courts, none got very far before the skies opened up again. Most of the players that advanced were top seeds playing on Ashe and Armstrong (think Federer, Nishikori, Djokovic, Serena, Keys, Pliskova, Barty & Svitolina). The lone non-seeded match to finish was the night session as American Reilly Opelka fell to Dominik Koepfer in straight sets.
So that means two things. Number one, the ten players that advanced have the benefit of today off and can stick to their normal Grand Slam routine. And number two, congratulations if you have tickets today because there are 75 matches to play today across all five main disciplines. You can catch men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles all across the grounds and that doesn't happen (to this extent) too often. Enjoy a plethora of tennis on Thursday with big names scattered all around from Court 5 to Court 17.
August 28th - Upsets Galore on Day Two; Mixed Doubles Draw
Men's Singles: 43-21
Women's Singles: 44-20
Absolute CARNAGE on day two in Flushing Meadows. We lost six men's seeds including four top ten players (Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov & Roberto Bautista Agut). I understand that Thiem was sick and Thomas Fabbiano is no easy draw. Tsitsipas fell to a very in-form Andrey Rublev. I'm puzzled by RBA's five set loss to Mikhail Kukushkin but even more stunned by Khachanov's five set defeat at the hands of the No. 216 player in the world, Vasek Pospisil. The Canadian hadn't won an ATP main draw match since Antwerp on October 17, 2018. Shocking.
All I'll say is this: I'll be disappointed if the semifinal doesn't feature a Rafa Nadal-Nick Kyrgios match. The bottom half is WIDE open for the two most talented players on that side. On the women's side, we nearly lost No. 1 Naomi Osaka, did lose Americans Sloane Stephens and (my upset pick) Jessica Pegula. Otherwise most of the seeds won.
Matches to watch on Wednesday? Young American Jenson Brooksby faces No. 17 Nikoloz Basilashvili, No. 31 Christian Garin meets Alex de Minaur, Venus Williams takes on No. 5 Elina Svitolina and sister No. 8 Serena Williams plays young compatriot Caty McNally.
Lastly, the mixed doubles draw came out and the first round begins today. Find my picks here. I'm always curious about who decides to play mixed since it's usually a good mix of young players trying to get matches in and doubles specialist veterans. There've been two teams over the last two years to separate themselves as the teams to beat right now: Gabriela Dabrowski & Mate Pavic (two titles each, one together) along with Latisha Chan and Ivan Dodig. Chan/Dodig are the No. 4 seeds and have won three majors together including the French Open & Wimbledon this season. Watch out for American Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Jamie Murray, the defending US Open champs. Murray has won two straight mixed titles in New York, partnering with Martina Hingis in 2017.
Pick: Rajeev Ram just captured his first mixed major title in Australia earlier this season. Sam Stosur has won three mixed Slams (2005, 2008, 2013) so I'll take the Aussie and Ram to win the title over Chan/Dodig.
August 27th - Day One Recap
Men's Singles: 23-9
Women's Singles: 21-11
Pretty much everything went to script on day one at Flushing Meadows. Easy wins for the likes of Djokovic, Federer, Nishikori & especially Medvedev. Same goes for Serena & Venus, Keys, Svitolina and Pliskova. Otherwise, there were only a handful of seed upsets on the first day. On the men's side American Reilly Opelka took out No. 11 Fabio Fognini in four sets while No. 26 Taylor Fritz fell in four to Feliciano Lopez. Pablo Carreno Busta also took down No. 19 Guido Pella in four sets, all three 'upsets' that I predicted. And in the women's draw, 2016 US Open champion and 14 seed Angie Kerber fell in three sets to Kristina Mladenovic (an upset, but Kiki is a brutal first round matchup), while No. 27 Carolina Garcia continued her slump with a straight sets loss to Ons Jabeur. One takeaway from night one: 18-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner pushed Stan Wawrinka to four sets. This kid has guts and is gonna be a big factor on the ATP Tour for the next decade-plus.
If you scroll down to my August 25th post (five first round picks from each bracket), you'll see that I was 3/3 on men's selections and picked one of those correctly lengthwise. I was incorrect on Daria Kasatkina upsetting Jo Konta, but I did nail that it would be a tight three setter. And as forecasted, Maria Sakkari dismantled Camila Giorgi.
Day two should bring a lot interesting matches to the grounds featuring younger players. Zverev, Tsitsipas, Thiem, Osaka, Gauff and more. The popcorn match is the night session on Armstrong, as American Stevie Johnson battles Nick Kyrgios. Also be sure to keep an eye on the all-Canadian battle on the Grandstand between Dennis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
August 26th - Happy Opening Day; Doubles Draws Out
There's nothing quite like the first Monday (or Tuesday) at the US Open. I grew up in New Jersey and went nearly every summer. I have fond memories getting to the grounds early when the gates open at 10:00am to catch some top 20 players practicing on the outer courts. I watched my fair share of matches in the old Grandstand and remember when the practice courts lacked viewing stands. Point is, we're on the cusp of two weeks of great tennis and if you're going early this week, enjoy the outer courts. That's the real treat at the Open (or any major).
Late on Sunday the men's and women's doubles draws were released. You can find my predictions here.
Men's Doubles: [2] Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo over [5] Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau
I expect the favorites to be there at the end, but also foresee a couple of the year's surprise teams make deep runs. Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof are up to No. 13 in the rankings and Ivan Dodig and the once retired Filip Polasek are No. 11. Both of these teams could make deep runs, as long as Dodig/Polasek get past the ever feisty Jack Sock & Jackson Withrow. Two more all-American hopes have tough draws but potential to win some matches as Australian Open semifinalists Ryan Harrison & Sam Querrey reunite, along with the always solid Bryan Bros. In the end I'll take last year's runner-ups over 2017's champions in a tight final. It would be Slam number three for both Kubot & Melo, their second as a pair.
Women's Doubles: [3] Gabriela Dabrowski/Yifan Xu over [4] Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka
The biggest storyline is the absence of Barbora Krejcikova, who in my eyes is always the favorite when partnering with Katerina Siniakova. Krejcikova pulled out of her final singles qualifying match down 1-0 in the first set, leaving Siniakova to partner with Germany's Julia Goerges. Two-time major champs Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic are the top seeds and favorites, but I could also see Bethanie Mattek-Sands & CoCo Vandeweghe making a deep run. CoCo won this tournament last year with Ash Barty. But Dabrowski & Xu are the team that's been at the top of women's doubles for quite some time without a Grand Slam title and I think that finally changes. The Canadian is 2-2 in mixed doubles Slam finals and the pair just reached the Wimbledon final but lost. I like the experience of Dabrowski & Xu on the hard courts of New York.
August 25th - First Round Fireworks Expected
The top half of the men's draw and bottom half of the women's bracket start play at 11:00am eastern time on Monday morning. Here are five first round matches to watch on each side.
Men's Singles
[11] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Reilly Opelka (USA), Monday's 2nd Match on Court 17 - Always the entertainer, Fognini comes into the US Open after a quarterfinal in Montreal. The Italian didn't play Cincinnati after an ankle injury and draws big serving 6'11" American Opelka. With a 5-3 record in the US Open series, Opelka gained confidence with nice wins over Borna Coric and John Isner.
Pick: Opelka in four close sets.
[19] Guido Pella (ARG) vs Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP), Monday's 4th match on Court 6 - Pella has been hot all season, Carreno Busta has just been rounding into form as of late. PCB made the semis here in New York back in 2017 and just recorded a QF in Winston Salem and R16 in Cincinnati. Pella's been solid on all surfaces against all opponents. But this has the makings of a four-plus hour five setter.
Pick: Carreno Busta in a five set marathon
Pierre-Hughes Herbert (FRA) vs Alex de Minaur (AUS), Monday's 2nd match on Court 8 - Herbert has been one of the most successful singles & doubles players over the last two years. But this is a tall task (against a short player) as de Minaur won down in Atlanta and made the final 16 in Cincinnati.
Pick: de Minaur in four sets
[8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs Andrey Rublev (RUS), Tuesday - Talent-wise it doesn't get much better than this. Tsitsipas has been as good as anyone outside the Big 3 over the last calendar year but has slumped this summer with two first round losses in Montreal and Cincy. Rublev has risen back near the top 40 after knocking out Roger Federer in Cincy and making the Winston Salem QF. But sometimes being hot right before a Slam doesn't spell success at the majors.
Pick: Tsitsipas in four comfortable sets
[18] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN), Tuesday - These two compatriots were tied at a set apiece with Shapo leading 4-1 when FAA retired. They played again in the Madrid first round where the then 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime won in straight sets. FAA had strong results all summer but Shapovalov made the Winston Salem SF this past week and played his best tennis of the year.
Pick: FAA takes out his fellow countryman in four sets
Women's Singles
[16] Jo Konta (GBR) vs Daria Kasatkina (RUS), Monday's 1st match on Court 17 - Kasatkina flashed great form by making the 2018 finals at Indian Wells. Since then it's been a struggle after a pair of quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2018. Konta fared well with a recent quarter at her home tournament Wimbledon and a semi in Paris at the French. This is a toss-up.
Pick: Kasatkina in three close sets
[30] Maria Sakkari (GRE) vs Camila Giorgi (ITA), Monday's 3rd match on Court 12 - Two Europeans that can crush the ball. Sakkari has more raw talent, but Giorgi has better form with two finals this summer (Washington & Bronx). Sakkari did make the semis in Silicon Valley and a quarterfinal in Cincy and I like the Greek in this hard-hitting matchup.
Pick: Sakkari in straight sets
[9] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs Victoria Azarkena (BLR), Tuesday - There will be a ton of Belarusian pride on whichever court Sabalenka and Azarenka play. Expect a hard-hitting slugfest between two players in pretty solid form. Azarenka has stayed sharp in singles by teaming with Ash Barty for a top ten doubles team.
Pick: Sabalenka in three long sets
[24] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs Alison Riske (USA), Tuesday - The newly married Riske is coming off her best Grand Slam result ever with a quarterfinal at Wimbledon and got a couple of matches in this summer on the hard courts. Muguruza is a French Open and Wimbledon champion but lost her last two matches in the first rounds of Wimbledon and Cincinnati (to eventual champion Maddy Keys). But this is New York and the Americans always get heavy support at the National Tennis Center.
Pick: Riske in two close sets
[25] Elise Mertens (BEL) vs Jil Teichmann (SUI), Tuesday - After an R16 at Wimbledon, Mertens has had a summer of mixed results picking up some singles wins and having more success as doubles partners with Sabalenka. Teichmann has won two clay court events this season including July in Palermo. Despite seedings I would not see this as an upset.
Pick: Teichmann in three sets
August 24th - Singles Predictions
Now that the qualifiers are set in both the men's and women's singles draws, I took a deeper look at each bracket and made my picks. More analysis to come on Sunday, but here's the way I see each draw playing out.
Men's Singles - No. 2 Rafael Nadal over No. 1 Novak Djokovic (BRACKET HERE)
One of the toughest sections of the draw is for the right to face Djokovic in the fourth round. Grand Slam mainstays like Kevin Anderson & Stan Wawrinka, plus young up-and-comers Hubert Hurkacz (22-years-old, just won first ATP title in Winston Salem) and Miomir Kecmanovic (19-years-old). I could easily see Kecmanovic pulling a couple of upsets to reach his first Slam fourth round. Watch out Yoshito Nishioka as well. But this quarter really boils down to Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. I think Djoker gets revenge from the Cincinnati SF and probably faces Roger Federer in the semis. Federer's toughest match before that potential semi will probably be a fourth rounder with David Goffin. Federer-Djokovic is pretty much always a four or five setter and a toss-up but I'll take Djoker to another Slam final.
On the bottom half, Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Andrey Rublev in the first round and the winner could make a nice run even with Nick Kyrgios looming. But I still think the quarterfinalist from this section is Roberto Bautista Agut, a really solid all-court player who's super flat groundstrokes should benefit him in New York. Moving down, I'm amazed by Gael Monfils. Seemingly only plays the big tournaments but is always seeded inside the top 15 and is generally good for two or three wins especially at the US Open. Real shame the organizers matched up both young Canadians for a second straight year in the first round. Denis Shapovalov won in 2018 after Felix Auger-Aliassime retired in the third set. FAA has been much better in 2019 but Shapo is hotter of late. I think Dominic Thiem quietly reaches the semis out of this part of the draw. Made the quarters last year and the draw is very favorable. Further down, while Rafa Nadal must contend with some big names, he should have no issue reaching the semis unless Russian brute Karen Khachanov plays a great match in the quarters. John Isner, Marin Cilic and Alex Zverev don't look like threats to me right now.
I think Nadal is the most rested and in form of any of the main favorites right now, so I'll take Rafa over Nole in four sets to win Grand Slam number 19 and US Open number four.
Women's Singles - No. 10 Madison Keys over No. 1 Naomi Osaka (BRACKET HERE)
August 23rd - The Final Grand Slam is Upon Us
The countdown has reached about 65 hours until first ball at the 2019 US Open, the year's final Grand Slam event. In my eyes there's one main storyline in both the women's draw and men's draw. And they each complement and contrast with one another. Before we get into that, stay tuned: since the US Open qualifiers are still going on, I'll post my brackets here this weekend once I take a more in depth look and make my picks.
For the women's bracket, how many individuals are legit threats to win the title? Hint: a lot. And looking at the men's draw, is it yet another Slam that we can skip to the semis and insert three of the Big 4 once again? Since the 2016 US Open won by Stan Wawrinka, either Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal have won all 11 Slams. Will Serena Williams finally finish off a tournament in her 2019 of near misses? Let's explore the paths to the second weekend in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the top eight seeds in each draw.
Men's Singles
1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) - 32 years old, 16 major titles. Three US Opens. Nole could face Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round, one of the few players outside of the Big 4 to win majors (three in fact). Even more likely is a meeting with 2018 Wimbledon & 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson. Get to the QF and it's probably a very hot, very confident Medvedev coming off a head-to-head win over Djoker in Cincinnati.
2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) - 33 years old, 18 major titles. Three US Opens. But a tricky draw that includes a first round meeting with Aussie John Millman who upset Federer last year at the US Open. Nadal could face the likes of Verdasco, Cilic and Isner between the third and fourth rounds and then probably meets Khachanov in the quarters. Not easy at all.
3. Roger Federer (SUI) - 38 years old, 20 major titles. Five US Opens (five straight) but none since 2008. Let's be blunt, Fed's draw is easy. Lucas Pouille in the potential third round, Guido Pella or David Goffin await in the fourth and Nishikori in the quarters. Federer lost to Andrey Rublev in straight sets at Cincy but that shouldn't stop him from making the semis in New York.
4. Dominic Thiem (AUT) - Really a clay court specialist has played much better on hard courts this season with a win at Indian Wells. Thiem made the US Open QF last year and has a favorable draw this year. Likely matchups include Kyle Edmund, Gael Monfils or Roberto Bautista Agut and potentially Nick Kyrgios or Tsitsipas down the road.
5. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) - A career high ranking achieved after a remarkable summer (finals in Washington D.C., finals in Montreal, winner at Cincinnati). Medvedev is confident, consistent and has a deadly backhand. I don't see any issues with the No. 5 player's draw until the quarterfinals against (likely) Djokovic.
6. Alex Zverev (GER) - Ever the underachiever at majors, Zverev won just two matches over the hard court North American Masters swing and lost in the Cincy first round. New York may not be any friendlier. Don't overlook the first round opponent Radu Albot, Francis Tiafoe in the second or Benoit Paire in the third round. If Sascha makes it through unscathed, Karen Khachanov awaits in the fourth round and that is no small task.
7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) - Still in the top eight, the consistent Nishikori could face young Chilean Christian Garin in the 3rd round but it's hard to see him losing before a Raonic or Coric meeting in the 4th round. Federer looms in this quarter.
8. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) - The young Greek has had a tough summer with first round losses at Wimbledon and on the hard courts of Cincinnati and Montreal. The draw is anything but favorable including a first round tilt with hot Russian Rublev and a possible third round with Kyrgios. That would be a rematch of the Citi Open SF won by Kyrgios in a third set tiebreak.
Women's Singles
1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) - Defending champ and winner of this year's Australian Open. Has been rounding into form as of late. Could see Wimbledon hero Coco Gauff in the third round and probably Aryna Sabalenka or Donna Vekic in the fourth round with Kiki Bertens as the seed in her quarter.
2. Ash Barty (AUS) - Barty had a quiet summer after her French Open triumph. But a couple of good hard courters await and look to thwart the QF matchup with Serena. Greek threat Maria Sakkari and three-time major champion Angie Kerber are potential 3rd & 4th round matchups.
3. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) - Pliskova has quietly had a lot of success in New York and fell into a nice draw. Jo Konta, Caroline Garcia and Marketa Vondrousova present potential challenges but Pliskova should get through to the 4th round or quarters.
4. Simona Halep (ROU) - All Halep gets for winning Wimbledon is the toughest quarter of the draw. Names like Strycova, Wozniacki, Andreescu and Stephens loom along with Kvitova in the quarters. The semifinalist from this part of the draw will undoubtedly be battle tested (and very tired).
5. Elina Svitolina (UKR) - Forget about the always over-ranked Ukranian for a second...she likely doesn't get past the 4th round. The match of the tournament could be No. 10 Madison Keys and No. 20 Sofia Kenin in the third round. Two of the hottest players on tour, the winner of the possible all-American battle has a fast track to the quarters or semis.
6. Petra Kvitova (CZE) - The Czech lefty may have a tough time getting deep, with tricky 2nd round (Petkovic), 3rd round (Mertens/Teichmann winner) and 4th round (Muguruza/Stephens) matches. That doesn't even take a QF against Halep into consideration.
7. Kiki Bertens (NED) - A darkhorse at best in my eyes. Bertens is in Osaka's quarter but faces a tough road including potential tussles with Pavlyuchenkova and Goerges in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
8. Serena Williams (USA) - Of course Serena plays Maria Sharapova in the first round. Too bad it's 2019 and not 2002. Williams also could face Su-Wei Hsieh in the 3rd round. Otherwise this is a generous draw for the 23-time Grand Slam champ. I like Serena to the quarters where a meeting with Kerber or Barty is likely.
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