Day 2 at the 2024 US Open will see more first-round action as players in the top halves of the men’s and women’s draws get going. Fans can anticipate another thrilling day of tennis, with top players such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, and Daniil Medvedev all set to take center stage.
World No. 1 Sinner and 2022 champion Alcaraz will headline the men’s matches. Sinner will begin his campaign against home favorite Mackenzie McDonald, while Alcaraz will face Li Tu. The 2021 champion Medvedev will also be in action against Dusan Lajovic.
Other notable players from the men’s draw scheduled to compete on Day 2 include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tommy Paul, Stan Wawrinka, and Alex de Minaur.
With that in mind, here are predictions for a few of the men’s matches set to take place on the second day of the 2024 US Open.
#5 Nicolas Jarry vs Christopher O’Connell
Nicolas Jarry heads into the US Open with a 16-17 record this year. He has reached two finals, in Buenos Aires and Rome, losing to Facundo Díaz Acosta in the former and Alexander Zverev in the latter. He has also made it to the quarterfinals at the Adelaide International, Chile Open, and Miami Open. He’s yet to pick up his first win in Grand Slams and currently holds a 0-3 record in those events.
Christopher O’Connell, with an 11-15 record this year, achieved his best result by reaching the Adelaide quarterfinals. He also impressed in Miami, defeating Frances Tiafoe before falling to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. O’Connell heads into New York after a couple of second-round finishes in Washington and Winston-Salem.
Jarry should make it through this encounter despite his subpar season. His superior record at the US Open and hard courts also give him the edge.
#4 Arthur Fils vs Learner Tien
Arthur Fils heads into the US Open with a 25-20 record this season. He secured the biggest title of his career and first ATP 500 crown in Hamburg, defeating Alexander Zverev in the final. His form on the grass was particularly impressive as he reached the quarterfinals in Halle and the fourth round at Wimbledon. His preparation for New York has been less than ideal, with first-round losses in Montreal to Ugo Humbert and in Cincinnati to Brandon Nakashima.
Tien, meanwhile, is 3-1 on the professional tour this season, having mainly competed on the Challenger and ITF circuits. All of his main draw matches came in Winston-Salem last week. He first advanced through the qualifiers and then defeated Fabian Marozsan and Thiago Seyboth Wild, before losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals. Tien has been exceptionally impressive on the ITF tour this year, winning four titles out of four finals.
Fils heads into this encounter as the favorite, but Tien, who has been in fantastic form lately, should not be counted out. With both players employing a similar style of play, an exciting match is on our hands.
Pick: Fils in three sets.
#3 Adrian Mannarino vs Borna Coric
Borna Coric heads into New York with an 11-16 match record this season. His best result so far was a run to the finals in Montpellier at the start of the year where he lost to Alexander Bublik despite winning the first set. He endured a hoard of disappointing losses in the months to come having faced an incredibly dreadful time on both the clay and grass. He rediscovered some good form during the American hardcourt swing, making it through the qualifiers and to the second round in Montreal and the third round in Winston-Salem.
On the other hand, Adrian Mannarino has had a season to forget, heading into New York with a disappointing 8-23 match record. His best result this year was reaching the semifinals in Dallas at the start of the season, where he lost to Marcos Giron. Mannarino also made it to the fourth round at the Australian Open, with notable wins over Stan Wawrinka, Jaume Munar, and 16th seed Ben Shelton before ultimately going down to Novak Djokovic, managing to win only three games against the Serb.
Mannarino leads Coric 4-0 in their head-to-head. Despite that record, Coric walks into this encounter the slight favorite given his form of late and superior record on hard courts. Mannarino will have to play exceptionally well, especially on serve and at the net if he is to have a chance of moving through.
Pick: Coric in five sets.
#2 Karen Khachanov vs Dan Evans
Karen Khachanov has a 23-16 win-loss record and one title so far this season. He started the year strongly, reaching the fourth round in Melbourne and the semifinals in Marseille. He played some of his best tennis in Qatar, where he won the title without dropping a set all week. On clay, he achieved a quarterfinal finish in Monte Carlo and a fourth-round result in Madrid. However, he has struggled since the start of the grasscourt swing and has failed to win two consecutive matches since.
In contrast, Dan Evans has had a disappointing season leading up to the US Open, with a 4-17 match record. He has not won two matches in a row all year, with his only victories coming in Adelaide, Los Cabos, Miami, and the Olympics.
Evans surprisingly leads Khachanov 4-0 in their head-to-head record. They have not played on hard courts since 2022, and Khachanov has had a better record on the surface since then. Evans’ form this year has been concerning, characterized by inconsistency and low self-esteem. Khachanov is expected to prevail in this encounter despite his record against Evans. The faster courts at the US Open should favor his powerful serving and hard-hitting game and see him wrap up a comfortable win should Evans not attack his serve early.
Pick: Khachanov in four sets.
#1 Fabio Fognini vs Tomas Machac
Fabio Fognini has scarcely featured on tour this season, holding an 11-8 match record heading into New York. His best results include a couple of quarterfinal finishes in Morocco and Gstaad. He impressed at Wimbledon by ousting eighth seed Casper Ruud in the second round before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut in a five-set epic in the following round. He’s also featured on the Challenger circuit this year where he’s found success in patches.
Tomas Machac heads into New York with a 2-15 match record for the season. His best result was a runner-up finish in Geneva, where he lost to Ruud. He has impressed in the Grand Slams, reaching the third round at both the Australian Open and the French Open, and the second round at Wimbledon. Additionally, he made a couple of quarterfinal appearances in Miami and Marseille.
Machac’s form on tour this season, especially on the hardcourt, should serve him well as he heads into his encounter against Fognini. The match could be one-sided in favor of the Czech if Fognini does not make early inroads. Serving well and playing an attacking brand of tennis will be key on the fast hardcourt at Flushing Meadows.
