By Jake Davies
- Kyle Edmund vs Robin Haase [32]
- Aljaz Bedene vs Andrey Rublev
- Cameron Norrie vs Dmitry Tursunov
NEW YORK, USA – With the shock news of Andy Murray‘s withdrawal, British No. 2 Kyle Edmund finds himself in the frame to carry British hopes on the men’s side, with Aljaz Bedene and qualifier Cameron Norrie joining him.
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Kyle Edmund vs Robin Haase [32] H2H: Haase leads 1-0
I feel that out of all of the British players, Kyle Edmund‘s US Open experience is the most interesting to follow. This will be the first real tournament at Grand Slam level where he will have a lot of points to defend. He made the US Open fourth round last year and that is massive points for someone like Edmund who is trying to build up his ranking so he can get one of the valuable seedings for the upcoming Grand Slam events.
The million dollar question is how he reacts to having those points dangling over his head and whether he rises or shrinks under that expectation and pressure. His US hard court results have been fantastic to see. Semi-final runs at Atlanta and Winston-Salem are real signs of progress after a disastrous grass court swing for the British No.2 player.
Robin Haase is a dangerous first round opponent, who has also been playing well. The Dutchman progressed to his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Toronto, so he is also feeling pretty confident about his game. I think both players would admit that they would prefer to compete on a clay court, but the pace that both can force off the forehand side actually works perfectly on a hard court as well.
Edmund has responded well to the advice of Mark Hilton and clearly buys into his insight on the tennis side of things and I think that puts him in good stead for the Open.
Prediction: Edmund in four sets.
Aljaz Bedene vs Andrey Rublev H2H: Bedene leads 1-0
The British No.3 Aljaz Bedene faces a potentially awkward first round opener in New York as he comes up against Russian prospect Andrey Rublev. Lots was expected of Rublev from a very young age. He was a decorated junior player, winning the junior French Open three years ago, but it took three long years for him to get his first real breakthrough on the ATP tour, where he won the Umag title earlier this year.
The Russian is immensely inexperienced on a hardcourt at Grand Slam level, though. He has the talent to take him to lofty heights on the ATP Tour, but I still feel like he needs the necessary time to learn how to approach a best-of-five match, as he is still only 19-years-old.
I think Bedene will just about win this one. He has not set the court alight on the hard courts leading up to the US Open, but I think his superior Grand Slam experience counts for a lot against Rublev.
Prediction: Bedene in four sets.
Cameron Norrie vs Dmitry Tursunov H2H: First meeting
Cameron Norrie, the British No.5 and World No.226, passed through the three rounds of qualifying without dropping a single set. It was the very first time he had gone through the qualifying setup of a major slam, having been granted a wildcard at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Even though he lost that first round at Wimbledon against Jo Wilfried Tsonga, it was obvious to see how much he had taken from that unique and rare experience and I think we are seeing a much more composed and wiser player because of it.
He comes into his second Grand Slam much more prepared, but most significantly, he has the three match-wins under his belt.
Prediction: Norrie in four sets
Edmund & Haase are scheduled on Court 10 at 11am (4pm BST), Norrie & Tursunov are scheduled on Court 14 at 11am (4pm BST) Monday, with Bedene & Rublev to be scheduled on Tuesday.
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Main Image: Mike Frey/BPI/Shutterstock/REX/Shutterstock
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