US Open Day 1 Preview and Tip: In-form Anisimova can do the business at 6/5

• Is Qinwen ready?

• Anisimova has something to prove

• 6/5 play holds value

Qinwen Zheng has arrived. The hugely talented Chinese player had scratched at the gates guarded by the big four players, but finally broke through by winning Olympic gold in Paris.

It was a very impressive run and performance from Qinwen, who thundered past chief gatekeeper Iga Swiatek in her own home - the Philippe Chatrier Court.

Swiatek had enjoyed a remarkable unbeaten stretch at Roland Garros spanning 25 matches and three full years. However, Qinwen took her to task, outhitting and outthinking her way to success in the sport's hardest match-up.

Since then Qinwen has been revelling in the spotlight, adding to an already substantial sponsorship portfolio that made her the 15th highest paid female athlete in the world in 2023. If you haven't heard of Qinwen Zheng, chances are you soon will.

Yet, when the US Open starts on Monday I fear the Chinese poster girl may have a swift return back to reality at the hands of the in-form Amanda Anisimova.

Off-court demands for Zheng

Now that she's broken through, she is in high demand off the court. Her summer hard court season has barely got going, with an early defeat in Cincinnati a worrying sign.

She did not impress in what turned into a tough slog against the limited Magdalena Frech, before she was handily defeated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, failing to register a break point against a veteran player that has struggled to register notable results this season.

It was clear from that showing that Zheng needed time to fine tune her game before the final Grand Slam of the season.

However, instead of playing this week the Chinese player was summoned back to her homeland for a photo opportunity with other Olympic athletes and political dignitaries. Her fame is clearly in high demand.

Zheng performed well at the 2023 US Open, reaching the quarter-final. However, conditions were slow as mud and it favoured her controlled, bruising strokes. Much like her fellow top players if she is allowed time on the ball she will dominate.

Conditions in New York are faster this year and it will require players such as Qinwen to tailor her game accordingly. She certainly has the talent to do so, but with only a brief appearance in Cincinnati it is unclear how those efforts are going.

Qinwen had a run to the final of the Australian Open this season, so there is no doubt about her top level on a hard court. But that was built on the back of three weeks adjusting to conditions, and match play before the off.

Her record on the American hard courts this season has been poor, winning only two matches - one of which was by retirement - across events in Miami, Indian Wells and Cincinnati.

It feels like Qinwen may be in a vulnerable spot.

Anisimova will have a crack

Another interesting element is that Qinwen's defeat to Pavlyuchenkova may serve as a useful form guide for how she could fare against Anisimova.

Pavlyuchenkova plays an aggressive, baseline game where she will attempt to hit the next ball harder than she does the last. Anisimova does that too, although her game is arguably even bigger.

Anisimova enters the tournament as a wild card following a prolonged time off tour with physical and mental health issues that saw her ranking plummet outside of the automatic entry ranking.

However, had the entry deadline been two weeks later then Anisimova would have easily cleared that requirement with a quarter-final run in Washington from qualifying, bettered by a charge to the final in Toronto.

She won a total of nine matches across those two weeks beating quality opposition including Sloane Stephens, Pavlyuchenkova, Daria Kasatkina, Anna Kalinskaya, Emma Navarro and most notably the favourite to win in New York Aryna Sabalenka.

The American's aggressive game is in fine working order and she is talking positively about her game, saying after the final in Toronto that she feels proud of herself.

Against an opponent that is still adapting to her elevated level of fame, success and conditions Anisimova will have a crack and I think she is good value to win at a tempting 6/52.20.

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