US Open 2020: Pablo Carreno Busta vs Yasutaka Uchiyama preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Pablo Carreno Busta vs Yasutaka Uchiyama
Date: 31 August 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 1 PM EDT, 10:30 PM IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Yasutaka Uchiyama preview
20th-seed Pablo Carreno Busta meets Grand Slam debutant Japan's Yasutaka Uchiyama in the first round of the 2020 US Open.
The 29-year-old opened his 2020 campaign with a quarterfinal loss to eventual finalist Lloyd Harris at the inaugural Adelaide Open. At his next stop at the Australian Open, Pablo Carreno Busta eked out consecutive four-set wins before falling to 2009 champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
Following an opening-round loss in Montpellier, the Spaniard made the semifinals in Rotterdam where he lost to young Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime before losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the first round in Dubai.
In his first competitive outing in six months, Pablo Carreno Busta beat Dusan Lajovic in his Cincinnati Masters opener before going down to Karen Khachanov in the next round.
On the other hand, Yasutaka Uchiyama made a trio of first-round exits at the Australian Open, New York Open and Delray Beach before winning his lone match of the season till now in Dubai.
Despite making his professional debut in 2011, the 89th-ranked Uchiyama will be making his first Grand Slam main-draw appearance at the 2020 US Open.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Yasutaka Uchiyama head-to-head
Pablo Carreno Busta and Yasutaka Uchiyama have never met on the tour before so their head-to-head rivalry stands at 0-0.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Yasutaka Uchiyama prediction
Pablo Carreno Busta is an experienced campaigner on the ATP Tour and particularly at Grand Slam tounaments where he has won 33 of his 58 matches with 13 of them coming at the US Open.
Since making his tournament debut in 2014, the 2017 semifinalist (lost to Kevin Anderson) has won at least one match at the tournament in each of his six previous appearances at Flushing Meadows. Last year, the 20th seed lost to David Goffin in the third round.
In that backdrop, anything other than a win for Pablo Carreno Busta seems like an unlikely proposition.
Prediction: Pablo Carreno Busta to win in straight sets.