US Open 2024 Day 1: Men's singles predictions ft. Andrey Rublev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild, Alexander Bublik vs Shang Juncheng
Day 1 of the 2024 US Open is scheduled to take place on August 24, with many of the top stars from both the men's and women's sides ready to take the court to bid for the last Major of the year.
On the men's side, defending champion and second seed Novak Djokovic will begin his campaign against qualifier Radu Albot. Another top seed who will be in action is fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev who will look to win his maiden Major as he starts his campaign against Emil Ruusuvuori.
Three of the American seeds, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Taylor Fritz, will begin their campaigns and will carry local hopes of being crowned as the first American male champion since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Let's look at some of the matches that are slated to take place on Day 1 at the 2024 US Open.
#6 Laslo Djere vs Jan-Lennard Struff
One of the first-round matches at the 2024 US Open will feature Laslo Djere taking on Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany. Djere has had a poor season in 2024, winning only five matches in the year. He last played at the Austrian Open, losing to Thiago Seyboth Wild in the second round.
Struff last played at the Cincinnati Open, where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a thrilling three-set encounter. The German has won a title in 2024, winning his home event, the BMW Open by beating Taylor Fritz in the final. Overall he has a 27-16 record in 2024.
The head-to-head is 2-1 in favor of the German, but Djere won the last encounter back in 2021 at the Hamburg Open. However, given the current form, Struff will be the favorite to win this match. This encounter has an added significance, as the winner will probably face Djokovic in the next round.
Predicted Winner - Jan-Lennard Struff
#5 Jiri Lehecka vs Marton Fucsovics
The last of the seeded players, 32nd-seeded Jiri Lehecka will begin his campaign at the 2024 US Open by taking on Marton Fucsovics of Hungary. Lehecka's 2024 season has been truncated due to injuries sidelining the Czech player for three months in the middle of the season. Despite that, the World No. 32 won his maiden ATP Title in the form of the Adelaide International.
Fucsovics has not played well in 2024, as his 11-12 record suggests. However, the Hungarian had one good event, as he won the Romanian Open on clay, beating Mariano Navone in the final. He last played in the Cincinnati Open qualifying rounds, going out before the main draw.
Lehecka has a 1-0 lead over Fucsovics in their head-to-head, with the Czech player winning at the Dubai Tennis Championships this year. The 32nd seed will be the favorite in the upcoming match.
Predicted winner - Jiri Lehecka
#4 Alexander Bublik vs Shang Juncheng
27th-seeded Alexander Bublik will take on Shang Juncheng of China in the opening round of the 2024 US Open. Bublik last played at the Canadian Open, where he lost in the opening round to Ben Shelton. However, the Kazakh player has had a good 2024 with two finals, winning the Open Sud de France after beating Borna Coric in the final.
Shang has been in good form in recent weeks. He last played at the Winston-Salem Open, where he had to forfeit his match against Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16. His best result came at the Citi Open, where he reached the semi-final as a qualifier, losing to Jordan Thompson.
Bublik leads the head-to-head 1-0 over Shang, as the former won their only match at this year's BNP Paribas Open. Being the seeded player, Bubilk will likely win this match as well.
Predicted winner - Alexander Bublik
#3 Ugo Humbert vs Thiago Monteiro
17th-seeded Ugo Humbert will take on Thiago Monteiro of Brazil on the opening day of the 2024 US Open. The Frenchman has been in great form in 2024, winning two titles, the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Open 13 in Marseille. He last played at the Cincinnati Open, losing to Jordan Thompson in the opening round.
Monteiro last played at the Olympics, where he lost to Sebastian Baez in the opening round. The Brazilian has shown good form on clay this season, reaching the quarter-final of the Swedish Open and the round of 16 as a qualifier at the Italian Open before losing to Zhang Zhizhen.
The head-to-head is 1-0 in favor of the Brazilian, with Monteiro winning their sole match-up at the Rothesay Classic in 2022. However, current form and seeding make Humbert the favorite to win the upcoming match.
Predicted winner - Ugo Humbert
#2 Alexei Popyrin vs Kwon Soon-woo
One of the most in-form players on the tour, 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin will play against Kwon Soon-Woo on the opening day. Popyrin won the biggest title of his career, the Canadian Open by beating Andrey Rublev in the final. The Australian last played at the Cincinnati Open, where he lost to Gael Monfils in the opening round.
Kwon is making a comeback on the Tour after recovering from injury. The Korean has only won 2 of the 8 matches he has played in 2024. He was last seen in action at the Hamburg Open, where he lost to local favorite Maximilian Marterer.
This will be the first meeting between the two players on the tour, with the Australian being the clear favorite based on current form.
Predicted Winner - Alexei Popyrin
#1 Andrey Rublev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild
Sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev will take on Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild on the opening day at the 2024 US Open. The Russian player has been in good form in 2024, winning the Madrid Open. The World No. 6 has been in tremendous form in the last few weeks, reaching the final of the Canadian Open, and making the quarter-final of the Cincinnati Open, where he lost to the top-seeded Jannik Sinner.
Wild has not had the best of seasons in 2024. The Brazilian has made the occasional decent run at an event, such as reaching the quarter-final of the Austrian Open, losing to Yannick Hanfmann.
The head-to-head is 1-0 in favor of Rublev. The only match between the pair happened at this year's Australian Open, which the Russian won after a high-octane five-set match. Rublev will be the favorite to win in New York as well.
Predicted Winner - Andrey Rublev