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  • Nadal headlines action as U.S. Open second round begins

    8/28/08 7:52 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Rafael Nadal has to hope for an easier match than the one he had against Bjorn Phau in round one. Viktor Troicki and Philipp Kohlschreiber will battle as potential third-round opponents for the No. 1 seed.

    (1) Rafael Nadal vs. Ryler DeHeart

    Bjorn Phau extended Nadal to three tough sets--including two tiebreakers--in the opening round, but Nadal should have an easier time of it with Ryler DeHeart. The little-known American is playing in his first Grand Slam and his first ATP event of the season. Needless to say, it was a monumental victory when DeHeart outlasted Olivier Rochus in five sets on Monday. On Thursday night it will be a monumental mismatch: a man who plays almost exclusively Futures and Challenger tournaments against the four-time French Open champion, the current Wimbledon champion, the Olympic gold medalist, and the No. 1 player in the world to boot. Nadal has never made it past the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, but that is of little concern for him at this point. Nadal in three devastating sets is the pick.

    Viktor Troicki vs. (25) Philipp Kohlschreiber

    On paper this should be the most competitive second-round showdown in the first quarter of the draw. Troicki has started to make a name for himself with a solid 2008 campaign, culminated by a recent runner-up performance in Washington D.C., where he took out Andy Roddick before falling to on-fire Juan Martin Del Potro. Kohlschreiber is more accomplished as the No. 26 player in the world, but he is not bringing the same confidence Troicki is into Flushing Meadows. The German struggled throughout the summer, but took advantage of Roddick's withdrawal to reach the quarterfinals at the Masters Series Cincinnati. Kohlschreiber looked good in a first-round thrashing of Luis Horna. Troicki displayed equally impressive tennis with a straight-set destruction of Carsten Ball. Kohlschreiber, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, has far more Grand Slam experience, but Troicki is in better form so count on this one going five.

    (32) Gael Monfils vs. Evgeny Korolev

    If the first round is any indication, this one should be outstanding. Korolev scored a huge win over Robin Soderling and it took only three sets. Two, however, required tiebreakers, the last of which Korolev took 11-9 to finish off the match. Monfils, meanwhile, dispatched Pablo Cuevas in just over an hour and a half. Although impressive, the victory was not unexpected for Monfils, who has been in fine form this season when healthy. He missed Wimbledon, but the No. 32 seed reached the semifinals at the French Open, the semifinals in Nottingham, and the quarterfinals of the Olympics. For Korolev, his first-round performance was far more surprising. The Russian had not won a single match of any kind since early June, losing in the first round of Wimbledon, Stuttgart, and New Haven. With such a record, it's hard to imagine Korolev sustaining the same form he showed against Soderling. Look for Monfils to take the first-ever meeting between these two contestants in four sets.

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