U.S. Open tourney: Day 1 preview and picks
(28) Victor Hanescu (+126) vs. John Isner (-126)
Battle of the giants, but only in height, not in stature. Nevertheless, both are having their best years. Despite Hanescu's seeding, Isner rates a slight edge because he's had the bigger wins since Wimbledon and he's on his home turf.
Hanescu is 6-foot-6, Isner 6-foot-9. Lobbing won't be a high priority in this match, even in desperate situations. The posture-perfect Hanescu cuts a stately figure on court and at 23-23 for the season has jacked his ranking up to No. 29, just three short of his career best. He's an all-court player who is good enough on clay to have taken out Gilles Simon at the French Open this year. He reached the final at Stuttgart in July, where he lost to Jeremy Chardy.
Isner is a former college guy who took a couple years to figure out you've got to put a lot more into the game when you're not facing university opponents, and is now being pushed forward by former Jim Courier coach Craig Boynton. Isner is 20-11 for the year and at a career best No. 55 ranking.
He caught everyone's attention at Washington, where he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych and had a win over Tommy Haas at Cincinnati.
Pick: Isner
(27) Paul-Henri Mathieu (-115) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (+106)
I'm not sure the Russian has been the same since he famously beat his head bloody with his racket during some emotional meltdown on court a couple years ago - a demonstration of self-abuse, by the way, that is still viewable on youtube.com.
Mathieu, meanwhile, has . . . well . . . been Mathieu. Lots of matches (he's 25-22) but nothing much remarkable. He fattened up his ranking by reaching the final at Hamburg, on clay, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko. But while he was playing three clay-court events, serious U.S. Open players were in the hard court lead-ups to New York.
Mathieu got in just five hard court matches the last month, going 3-2, and I don't like his preparation here.
On the other hand, I do like Youzhny's grittiness. He trails the lifetime series with P-H by 4-1, though none of those matches were on this surface. This is the first time they've met in a Slam. Youzhny is just 25-23 this year, but there was that semifinal finish in New York in 2006, so this is a feel-good place.
Nevertheless, a very slim edge to Mathieu. If your book allows you to bet the total games in the match, take the over. I see this match taking five long sets.
Pick: Mathieu
(21) James Blake (-873) vs. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (+717)
The J-Block rooting section will undoubtedly be there to root on their guy from Fairfield, Conn., which isn't too far away. But who knows what Blake is bringing to court at this point.
A toe injury curtailed his prep for the Open and he's just 19-16 for a season in which he's fallen from the top 20 and will drop behind Sam Querrey for the No. 2 American spot behind Andy Roddick when the new rankings come out Monday.
Since losing to Andy Murray in the Queens final (no shame there), he's played only two tournaments and, combined with two losses in Davis Cup, is on a four-match losing streak.
He's got some rust to shed, but should get by No. 114 Hidalgo, who is 0-3 lifetime at the Open and only 2-7 for the season.
Still, Blake's lack of preparation and Hidalgo?s odds make the underdog the right play.
Pick: Hidalgo
Carly Gullickson (+147) vs. Jill Craybas (-160)
I like this matchup of the young (22 years old) daughter of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Bill Gullickson against old pro Craybas, who is playing in her 13th consecutive U.S. Open.
Let's give high marks to Jill for staying fit all these years, and she's hardly the biggest of players at 5-foot-3. But she has 10 first-round losses in those 12 Open appearances and, at 9-18 for the year, who knows how much longer before this 35-year-old calls it a career.
You've got to weigh Craybas' lengthy experience against Gullickson's youthful exuberance. She qualified, so she gets an edge in having gotten a bit more match tough for New York. But Gullickson is only 0-4 in WTA main draws this year and hasn't played the Open, where she's 0-2, since 2005. A couple of Yanks at opposite ends of their careers.
Go for the mild upset with Gully.
Pick: Gullickson
(28) Victor Hanescu (+126) vs. John Isner (-126)
Battle of the giants, but only in height, not in stature. Nevertheless, both are having their best years. Despite Hanescu's seeding, Isner rates a slight edge because he's had the bigger wins since Wimbledon and he's on his home turf.
Hanescu is 6-foot-6, Isner 6-foot-9. Lobbing won't be a high priority in this match, even in desperate situations. The posture-perfect Hanescu cuts a stately figure on court and at 23-23 for the season has jacked his ranking up to No. 29, just three short of his career best. He's an all-court player who is good enough on clay to have taken out Gilles Simon at the French Open this year. He reached the final at Stuttgart in July, where he lost to Jeremy Chardy.
Isner is a former college guy who took a couple years to figure out you've got to put a lot more into the game when you're not facing university opponents, and is now being pushed forward by former Jim Courier coach Craig Boynton. Isner is 20-11 for the year and at a career best No. 55 ranking.
He caught everyone's attention at Washington, where he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych and had a win over Tommy Haas at Cincinnati.
Pick: Isner
(27) Paul-Henri Mathieu (-115) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (+106)
I'm not sure the Russian has been the same since he famously beat his head bloody with his racket during some emotional meltdown on court a couple years ago - a demonstration of self-abuse, by the way, that is still viewable on youtube.com.
Mathieu, meanwhile, has . . . well . . . been Mathieu. Lots of matches (he's 25-22) but nothing much remarkable. He fattened up his ranking by reaching the final at Hamburg, on clay, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko. But while he was playing three clay-court events, serious U.S. Open players were in the hard court lead-ups to New York.
Mathieu got in just five hard court matches the last month, going 3-2, and I don't like his preparation here.
On the other hand, I do like Youzhny's grittiness. He trails the lifetime series with P-H by 4-1, though none of those matches were on this surface. This is the first time they've met in a Slam. Youzhny is just 25-23 this year, but there was that semifinal finish in New York in 2006, so this is a feel-good place.
Nevertheless, a very slim edge to Mathieu. If your book allows you to bet the total games in the match, take the over. I see this match taking five long sets.
Pick: Mathieu
(21) James Blake (-873) vs. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (+717)
The J-Block rooting section will undoubtedly be there to root on their guy from Fairfield, Conn., which isn't too far away. But who knows what Blake is bringing to court at this point.
A toe injury curtailed his prep for the Open and he's just 19-16 for a season in which he's fallen from the top 20 and will drop behind Sam Querrey for the No. 2 American spot behind Andy Roddick when the new rankings come out Monday.
Since losing to Andy Murray in the Queens final (no shame there), he's played only two tournaments and, combined with two losses in Davis Cup, is on a four-match losing streak.
He's got some rust to shed, but should get by No. 114 Hidalgo, who is 0-3 lifetime at the Open and only 2-7 for the season.
Still, Blake's lack of preparation and Hidalgo?s odds make the underdog the right play.
Pick: Hidalgo
Carly Gullickson (+147) vs. Jill Craybas (-160)
I like this matchup of the young (22 years old) daughter of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Bill Gullickson against old pro Craybas, who is playing in her 13th consecutive U.S. Open.
Let's give high marks to Jill for staying fit all these years, and she's hardly the biggest of players at 5-foot-3. But she has 10 first-round losses in those 12 Open appearances and, at 9-18 for the year, who knows how much longer before this 35-year-old calls it a career.
You've got to weigh Craybas' lengthy experience against Gullickson's youthful exuberance. She qualified, so she gets an edge in having gotten a bit more match tough for New York. But Gullickson is only 0-4 in WTA main draws this year and hasn't played the Open, where she's 0-2, since 2005. A couple of Yanks at opposite ends of their careers.
Go for the mild upset with Gully.
Pick: Gullickson
