US Open

US Open Men's Singles Day 2 Tips: Van Assche could shock seeded Jarry

Scottish Tennis Player Andy Murray
Andy Murray's current fitness is debatable...

There's more first-round action in New York on Tuesday with a further 32 matches on a busy schedule. After a winner on day one, Dan Weston returns to give his views...

  • Rune out already on day one

  • Van Assche an underdog pick

  • British favourites look vulnerable


Cachin gives us day one winner

While Ben Shelton eventually came through against Pedro Cachin, the Argentinian did enough to cover the game handicap and get us a day one winner to start our US Open campaign off to a positive start. Shelton now faces Dominic Thiem, who picked up an excellent straight-sets victory over Alexander Bublik.

At the time of writing, day one is still going on but already we've seen our first top 10 player depart with Holger Rune dumped out by the Spanish clay-courter Roberto Carballes Baena, and while I stated that I thought both Rune and Casper Ruud were vulnerable in this event, I didn't expect Rune to fall at the first hurdle.

Alcaraz among heavy favourites on day two

Moving on to the Tuesday card, matches come from the top half of the draw which means that we see top seed Carlos Alcaraz get his tournament underway. Dominik Koepfer is unlikely to hold much of a threat to the world number one. Other heavy favourites expected to ease through include Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Alex De Minaur and Hubert Hurkacz, who are all around 1.101/10 or below to get past their respective lower ranked opposition.

Fitness question marks over Jarry

As we attempt to find some pre-match value on day two, it's tempting to look at some more competitive match-ups, and one seed who could be vulnerable is Nicolas Jarry, who faces the 19-year-old Frenchman, Luca Van Assche.

Jarry is 1.558/15 to win, but I'm not sure about this line. He gave a walkover in Cincinnati last time out, while Van Assche is on a nice upward curve as he progresses through the rankings. Van Assche hasn't played much outdoors on hard court this year, but did pick up an excellent Challenger title indoors in Pau in March, against a tough field. He's clearly no mug, and against a potentially injured Jarry, could well spring an upset.

Norrie and Murray uneasy favourites

There's also plenty of British interest on day two, with Cameron Norrie at 1.251/4 for his meeting with Alexander Shevchenko, who has broken the top 100 over the last few months but did retire in his last match in Winston Salem. Norrie has disappointed of late, with his win over qualifier Tomas Machac in round one of Wimbledon his last victory, and he's 0-3 on hard court since SW19. If Shevchenko is fit, he could cause some tough times for Norrie.

Fellow Brit Andy Murray is similarly priced at 1.321/3 for his meeting with Corentin Moutet, with the Scotsman also having some fitness issues having pulled out of Toronto and missing Cincinnati. While Moutet might not be the toughest opponent, a Norrie/Murray double is odds-on but isn't something I'd be happy backing.

Finally, fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka still has the drive to do well at the age of 38, and picked up several underdog wins in Cincinnati against home players. Conversely, opponent Yoshihito Nishioka has lost six of his last seven stemming back to the French Open, and despite Wawrinka being in the autumn of his career, looks reasonably priced at a current 1.574/7.

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