USO 2020 Top 4 Draws

[The Guru]

Hard for me to see Thiem or Medvedev making the final tbh

Who then?

 

[MichaelNadal]

Who then?

Whoever it is, Djokovic is gonna stomp them. Especially if he's serving like he did at the AO. I think Thiem and Medvedev have horrible draws, at least they will have to work too hard, I see 4 and 5 setters from them both, then a random loss.

 

[threehandedbackhand]

Jack Sock's on fire.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Jack Sock's on fire.

He definitely is if you've seen his instagram lately lol.

 

[Hitman]

lol He was playing crispy, first strike tennis.

He was indeed...imagine, I would have been a bonafide Rafa fan had he played that way from 2004 on.

 

[netlets]

My analysis:

Djokovic looks to be a lock for the semifinal, with a not-bad player in the QF. I don't think Tsitsipas (who will also likely breeze into the SF, maybe with a challenge in the QF) will be super effective against Djokovic, but we will see in the Cincy final (if they make it). Then it'll be down to Med or Thiem to stop him.

Speaking of, Thiem's draw is killer. Not only does he have former champ Cilic in R3, former champion Murray (who played decently in Cincy) or rising star FAA in R4, a well-playing Raonic or RBA in the QF, and last year's finalist Medvedev in the SF. Assuming he gets through all that, he still needs to go through Novak Djokovic, who will likely have had the easier SF. I wouldn't even necessarily call him the favorite against Medvedev.

As for Medvedev, he's got a decent pair of players in R4 and QF, but I expect him to make the semis with Thiem. Thiem might be tired, but he also might have worked himself into form. Will likely be a close match, but if he makes it to Djokovic, he's more likely to win in my opinion - not the least because of his easier draw. He'll be less tired and more able to go the distance against Djokovic.

I agree, but I seriously doubt all of the favorites are going to be winning these matches. The heat will break down several players and some will be in better shape/form than others and there should be a lot of upsets. I wish Kyrgios, Stan, Monfils, Fed and Nadal were playing. So many iconic players out this year. The women's draw is epically weak without 6 of the top 8 players and a ton of others.

 

[MichaelNadal]

He was indeed...imagine, I would have been a bonafide Rafa fan had he played that way from 2004 on.

Idk how anyone can not love watching him when he plays like that. I wish he always played like that too. Serve harder and go for your shots, come into net, etc.

 

[Hitman]

Idk how anyone can not love watching him when he plays like that. I wish he always played like that too. Serve harder and go for your shots, come into net, etc.

That is all I ever wanted from him and this dude was actually playing that sort of style when he was younger, just not as refined. Not going to fault him on the game he went to make his main one, since he went onto win so much, but when people call him one trick pony or top spin monkey, it makes it look like he cannot do anything but do topspin to the backhand....he wasn't that way before, he played with uber aggression, with low clearance over the net, with serious venom.

Sometimes I think his forehand could have been more like Del Potro's had he kept it to the way I remember it being. IMO of course.

 

[Meles]

Have you seen how many FH DTL winners Novak has been clobbering in his last few matches? He is timing the ball sweetly. Seriously, these new USO courts look ideal for his game, certainly helping him rather than hindering.

Basically I think these conditions are a touch faster than the Asian swing which he ruled for many years With an iron fist.

 

[Hitman]

Basically I think these conditions are a touch faster than the Asian swing which he ruled for many years With an iron fist.

Which makes it bad news for everyone else. USO going back to tradition with the faster conditions. I am liking the speed of these courts so far, and they will only get faster the more they are played on.

 

[Meles]

My analysis:

Djokovic looks to be a lock for the semifinal, with a not-bad player in the QF. I don't think Tsitsipas (who will also likely breeze into the SF, maybe with a challenge in the QF) will be super effective against Djokovic, but we will see in the Cincy final (if they make it). Then it'll be down to Med or Thiem to stop him.

Speaking of, Thiem's draw is killer. Not only does he have former champ Cilic in R3, former champion Murray (who played decently in Cincy) or rising star FAA in R4, a well-playing Raonic or RBA in the QF, and last year's finalist Medvedev in the SF. Assuming he gets through all that, he still needs to go through Novak Djokovic, who will likely have had the easier SF. I wouldn't even necessarily call him the favorite against Medvedev.

As for Medvedev, he's got a decent pair of players in R4 and QF, but I expect him to make the semis with Thiem. Thiem might be tired, but he also might have worked himself into form. Will likely be a close match, but if he makes it to Djokovic, he's more likely to win in my opinion - not the least because of his easier draw. He'll be less tired and more able to go the distance against Djokovic.

I agree except Thiem’s early draw will let him find form plus it will not be crazy hot the first week. Cilic has been in decline for some time to my eyes and we have this:
�

32/2019	R16	Canadian Masters	Hard	Dominic Thiem	Marin Cilic	7-6(7) 6-4
1/2016	QF	Brisbane	Hard	Dominic Thiem	Marin Cilic	2-6 7-6(4) 6-4

Felix will be too gassed by R16 And frankly for Murray that might be a career ender. If TIM gets rolling All of those matches should be like shooting fish in a barrel except for one; The horror of Raomug back from the dead. His first serve is too big for TIM to handle. Pospisil Might be able to upend mugnic and Tim can handle RBA.

With the little delay now in the warm-up tournament Djokovic faces another kettle of fish. RBA will be rested for their match And with the delay it seems likely he’s going to be playing the equivalent of a first round match over the course course of Friday and Saturday. Both Djokovic and hopefully Raonic Essentially will be playing an extra round at the US open compared to the field. This greatly enhances the chances of the mad weed, Tim, and Stefanos. I don’t think mad weed will enjoy the raomug first serve and forehand whatsoever.

The only way raomug might touch Djokovic is if it’s crazy hot and fast. Milosh Crushes Stefanos in the final too. Tsitsipas should be really fresh for the semifinal; There is no one in his section who can touch him and he owns Zverev. A fresh Stefanos can definitely cause trouble for Djokovic if he’s a little worse for wear. Tsitsipas will need cooler conditions to have a chance as Nole’s serve is just too good for him. Maybe he could win in hot conditions via breakers.

If we lose Raonic should be a cracker of a final. I just hope it keeps getting cooler as this ultra fast stuff I just don’t like.

 

[Meles]

Which makes it bad news for everyone else. USO going back to tradition with the faster conditions. I am liking the speed of these courts so far, and they will only get faster the more they are played on.

Temperature will play a big part and thankfully it’s cooler at least for the first week of the U.S. Open. If it gets hot oh boy

 

[Meles]

I agree, but I seriously doubt all of the favorites are going to be winning these matches. The heat will break down several players and some will be in better shape/form than others and there should be a lot of upsets. I wish Kyrgios, Stan, Monfils, Fed and Nadal were playing. So many iconic players out this year. The women's draw is epically weak without 6 of the top 8 players and a ton of others.

First week is going to be relatively cool

 

[Meles]

Easily. Quarter 4 is the quarter of death. Thiem will be lucky to make the SF, and then he's got at best a 25% chance at the title.

This so-called quarter of death features two washed up players And another with a high chance of coming up lame by that stage. I’d be very glad to have raonic in the other half of the draw, But otherwise this is a great draw for tim especially since it’s not going to be hot the first week. Friday might be pretty warm.

 

[TripleATeam]

This so-called quarter of death features two washed up players And another with a high chance of coming up lame by that stage. I’d be very glad to have raonic in the other half of the draw, But otherwise this is a great draw for tim especially since it’s not going to be hot the first week. Friday might be pretty warm.

Quarter of death because these are the top 5 players in it: Thiem, Murray, RBA, Raonic, Khachanov.
Other quarters:
1: Djokovic, Goffin, Opelka, Krajinovic, Shapovalov.
2: Tsitsipas, Zverev, Garin, Lajovic, Schwartzman.
3: Medvedev, Berrettini, Dimitrov, Rublev, Fucsovics.

Clearly it's the most stacked quarter, by a wide margin. 2 Cincy semifinalists, a Cincy quarterfinalist who put up a strong showing, and Khachanov (the guy who narrowly lost to one of those semifinalists).

Obviously I'm not saying Thiem is guaranteed to lose, but "great draw" is a bit of stretch, no? If Djokovic got that draw, I'd be worried about his chances, so the same obviously goes for Thiem.

 

[Fiero425]

Bottom half looks stronger at first glance. Djokovic and Tsitsipas will be pleased with what they got, especially having gone far in Cincinnati already.

Part of me wants to see Thiem lose early just for the laughs after all the tennis he played during the lockdown. But it would be boring if Djokovic gets to the final and faces someone a lot worse than him there.

It's happened enough times for Fedal in the past with Novak usually needing to go thru them to win a major later! Cincy was to be tougher before Medvedev upset! This draw at the USO not half as tough! Bout time Nole got a little bit of a break! No asterisk needed if he takes both in titles in "straights!"

 

[MichaelNadal]

That is all I ever wanted from him and this dude was actually playing that sort of style when he was younger, just not as refined. Not going to fault him on the game he went to make his main one, since he went onto win so much, but when people call him one trick pony or top spin monkey, it makes it look like he cannot do anything but do topspin to the backhand....he wasn't that way before, he played with uber aggression, with low clearance over the net, with serious venom.

Sometimes I think his forehand could have been more like Del Potro's had he kept it to the way I remember it being. IMO of course.

22:02

 

[Fiero425]

Quarter of death because these are the top 5 players in it: Thiem, Murray, RBA, Raonic, Khachanov.
Other quarters:
1: Djokovic, Goffin, Opelka, Krajinovic, Shapovalov.
2: Tsitsipas, Zverev, Garin, Lajovic, Schwartzman.
3: Medvedev, Berrettini, Dimitrov, Rublev, Fucsovics.

Clearly it's the most stacked quarter, by a wide margin. 2 Cincy semifinalists, a Cincy quarterfinalist who put up a strong showing, and Khachanov (the guy who narrowly lost to one of those semifinalists).

Obviously I'm not saying Thiem is guaranteed to lose, but "great draw" is a bit of stretch, no? If Djokovic got that draw, I'd be worried about his chances, so the same obviously goes for Thiem.

Thiem is toast! You heard it here first! Looks like he's due for a decline; even if temporary! He's had good results, but not great! He just hasn't gotten over the hump when it comes to defeating "the best" when it counts! It's not his fault; just something in common with the rest of the tour!

 

[Meles]

Quarter of death because these are the top 5 players in it: Thiem, Murray, RBA, Raonic, Khachanov.
Other quarters:
1: Djokovic, Goffin, Opelka, Krajinovic, Shapovalov.
2: Tsitsipas, Zverev, Garin, Lajovic, Schwartzman.
3: Medvedev, Berrettini, Dimitrov, Rublev, Fucsovics.

Clearly it's the most stacked quarter, by a wide margin. 2 Cincy semifinalists, a Cincy quarterfinalist who put up a strong showing, and Khachanov (the guy who narrowly lost to one of those semifinalists).

Obviously I'm not saying Thiem is guaranteed to lose, but "great draw" is a bit of stretch, no? If Djokovic got that draw, I'd be worried about his chances, so the same obviously goes for Thiem.

I guess on paper there is a shred of logic. The death:
1. Khach has been in death spiral for a year. Bagged a lot of easy matchs at ATP cup is the only reason he's probably still near the top 20.
2. Muzziah on his 4th resurrection
3. RBA I might buy, but Tim should handle in QF
4. RaoMug - RIP timmy, RIP timmy

Tim is a different player from Joker and matchs up differently. RBA is not Tim's kryptonite; its RaoMug. Now it's music to my ears if mug is in the section of death! Timmy plays Nagal lol.

Shapo and Kraji are two of the best players on tour right now. I'm going to laugh and laugh if Krajinović in his current form runs into the Djokovic. This guy could be his kryptonite LOL. Djokovic has never beaten him and they practice together a lot.

 

[TripleATeam]

I guess on paper there is a shred of logic. The death:
1. Khach has been in death spiral for a year. Bagged a lot of easy matchs at ATP cup is the only reason he's probably still near the top 20.
2. Muzziah oh his 4th resurrection
3. RBA I might buy, but Tim should handle in QF
4. RaoMug - RIP timmy, RIP timmy

Tim is a different player from Joker and matchs up differently. RBA is not Tim's kryptonite; its RaoMug

Fair. Of course, this is all if Thiem works himself into form. Naturally, we can think the same of Khachanov potentially. I'd definitely mark him as the favorite in each of these matches individually, but if you asked me to parlay Cilic/Murray/Raonic, I don't think I would. Especially not if you tack on Med and Djokovic to the end of that.

 

[Meles]

Fair. Of course, this is all if Thiem works himself into form. Naturally, we can think the same of Khachanov potentially. I'd definitely mark him as the favorite in each of these matches individually, but if you asked me to parlay Cilic/Murray/Raonic, I don't think I would. Especially not if you tack on Med and Djokovic to the end of that.

If Tim were to get past Raonic I doubt it would be a grueling match. For Tim I'm very happy to see a couple easy first rounds and they are things a lot worse than Cilic like Raonic and Krajinović for R32. Those two are dangerous.

The most memorable quarter of death was RG 2017, very very enjoyable that one. Tim's loss coming into that one I put on par with his most recent loss. This recent loss implies rust though and that is concerning but like I say the easy first couple matches is key.

it's going to be very weather dependent and we don't know what the second week will be like yet. Do we know which half plays on Monday?

 

[Lleytonstation]

Which makes it bad news for everyone else. USO going back to tradition with the faster conditions. I am liking the speed of these courts so far, and they will only get faster the more they are played on.

Look, if djoker is going to win, I at least hope he plays the aggressive mannerisms he played with the other day. It really felt like he was imitating Fed at times. Great serve, great volleys, and offense first.

I could enjoy a Djoker match if he plays like Fed.

 

[tudwell]

Look, if djoker is going to win, I at least hope he plays the aggressive mannerisms he played with the other day. It really felt like he was imitating Fed at times. Great serve, great volleys, and offense first.

I could enjoy a Djoker match if he plays like Fed.

The final game against Struff, I think it was, Djokovic looked so much like Fed. Short slices running Struff around, keeping him off balance, then unloading on the forehand out of nowhere. Definitely fun to watch.

 

[netlets]

First week is going to be relatively cool

That's good for a lot of players - I still think jumping head first into a Slam with such a long off-season is going to be tough. By AO they usually only have a month to a month and a half off unless players are injured. They've been out for 6 months with a one week event right before a best of 5. Should yield some odd results.

 

[Deleted member 774223]

It's happened enough times for Fedal in the past with Novak usually needing to go thru them to win a major later! Cincy was to be tougher before Medvedev upset! This draw at the USO not half as tough! Bout time Nole got a little bit of a break! No asterisk needed if he takes both in titles in "straights!"

Well it's already guaranteed that he won't have to go through those two now. But a Slam is a Slam. It stinks that there is no crowd but all top players have a choice to participate.

 

[JonnyBlack1]

He was indeed...imagine, I would have been a bonafide Rafa fan had he played that way from 2004 on.

Hitman
Rafa played his best in 2013 in my
Opinion

 

[ForehandRF]

In his last 2 slam finals he was vulnerable. The problem is that nobody in the current field can take advantage of that. He will win USO and RG this year even if he breaks a leg.

How can you be so sure ? As long as Rafa plays the French, nobody else is favored to win the tournament.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

One thing no one is talking about I want to bring up: no crowd. There will be no crowd to distract Djokovic and rile up his opponents. With a good draw and that factor gone, he's a big favorite if he can avoid injury.

I was thinking the same. This situation favours the best players in the world. Novak can stay in his rhythm and won’t have the crowd there to try put him off. I do think it helps him a lot to be honest.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Agree. I think Djokovic has become an absolute mental rock in the slam finals now, even more than before. Beating him will require an incredible day of quality tennis.

You are right it takes a nadal type RG level or a wawrinka in beast mode level. Novak is tougher than he’s ever been in slam finals. His mental strength has improved a lot on this department later in his career.

 

[StrongRule]

How can you be so sure ? As long as Rafa plays the French, nobody else is favored to win the tournament.

I doubt Nadal will play anything this year. And even if he does, his mental block against Djokovic is just too bad.

 

[Fiero425]

I was thinking the same. This situation favours the best players in the world. Novak can stay in his rhythm and won’t have the crowd there to try put him off. I do think it helps him a lot to be honest.

If Nole can overcome those rude MF'rs from England last year at the Wimbledon final, he can withstand just about anything! Lack of idiots "in the stands" can only help a person, even if normally impervious in the past! We'll have to see what conditions will be in Paris! It prob. won't be a sauna! Anybody?