U.S. Open Predictions

Ok, y’all – ready for some crazy U.S. Open picks? Here goes. Gasquet will sleepwalk to the semis. Just has to beat Raonic, who doesn’t move, in the fourth round, and Ferrer, who hasn’t won a notable match on hard court since March, in the quarters. Look for him to get busted in the semis, against top-seeded Djoker, who is my pick to win it all. I actually think we’ll see Murray go down in the quarters to fifth-seeded Berdych, who hits the shit out of the ball and has had a good summer, including beating the Scot in straight sets last week in Cincinnati, while Murray has struggled to build on the momentum of his Wimbledon triumph. The big loser in the draw is Juan Martin Del Potro, who is slated to take-on Djoker in the quarter-finals. I think DelPo can take him down – and lord knows I’ll be pulling for him – but I just feel like the Serbian’s going to be extra focused and out to prove that he can do more than win the Australian Open. Djoker in four, there. Fed, having dropped to an unconscionably low 7-seed, will squeek thru to the quarters, eking out a tricky victory against 11-seeded Nishikori in the fourth-round. But, here’s where it gets interesting. If Georgian Giant John Isner, who’s had an incredible summer, losing in the Cincinnati final to Rafa last week, gets past Gael Monfils in the second-round, then I actually think he’ll have a chance to take down second-seeded Nadal in the round of 16. But, if the surging Frenchman, who’s bounced back extremely well from an injury that saw him dip into the triple-digits in the rankings earlier this year and has advanced to the semis in the Winston-Salem tune-up as I type, can take down the big-serving American, then I think Rafa coasts to the quarters, takes down Fed there (it hurts me to write that), and then squeeks by Gasquet to reach his third U.S. Open final, where he’ll lose to Djokovic in four (no one beats Rafa in three, not even Robin Soderling (poor bastard)). The wild card in all of this, of course, is Yen-Hsun Lu, whose monumental talent is the greatest thing to grace men’s tennis since the Korda Kick, and who is, without question, my favourite Taiwanese tennis player (to the massive Jimmy Wang onslaught reading this post, don’t worry — I like your man, too). If he gets hot, Lu could run the table, leaving only a trail of bemused seeded players in his wake. Indeed, if the Taiwanese Tiger finds his full form, the only question will be not whether he’ll win the Open, but whether he’ll lose fewer than ten games in doing so. So, there you have it, tennis fans! The U.S. Open men’s draw unfolding right before your eyes, fully four days before the tournament even gets started. Enjoy the action in the Big Apple!