US Open 2022, 1st Round, Tuesday, 30.08.2022
He was the big surprise from a German point of view a year ago, almost made it to the quarter-finals as a qualifier! Peter Gojowzcyk and the memories of New York, they should give him a few percent more self-confidence.
On Tuesday, the man from Munich enters the tournament, unfortunately he has not been in a good mood for a few months. His opponent: A very good one by name, but the form curve is clearly pointing downwards here as well. Although there is a clear favourite at Bwin, I now reveal in my Gojowczyk Rune tip why I would go over the 3.5 sets!
When we talk about Peter Gojowczyk and his performance in Grand Slam tournaments, we cannot avoid going straight to last year’s US Open.
Nobody expected a successful tournament here, but then the Bavarian got going. After surviving the qualifiers, he beat Ugo Humbert, Dusan Lajovic and Henri Laaksonen; close, long matches were his speciality.
Twice five sets, once four, with such results he suddenly found himself in the last 16. There, against the seemingly overpowering Carlos Alcaraz, he almost achieved his absolute masterpiece.
In the end, the German ran out of steam a bit and lost a sensational duel 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 0-6. He lived off this experience for a long time, played well to the end of 2021 and climbed to a place around 80 in the world rankings.
The now 33-year-old, however, was unable to maintain this form. As the current number 108 in the world, he just about saved himself the qualification and started directly in the main draw. Hardly anyone expects him to make it to the last 16 again.
In the entire year 2022, Gojowczyk celebrated only four victories in the main draw! So if he made it through the qualifying rounds once, he went home again immediately afterwards. In Wimbledon, Melbourne and Paris he suffered a real defeat in round 1.
So it would have to be a case of the devil if “Gojo” were to come even close to repeating his New York fairytale of 2021.
The odds are averaging 4.80 to 1.15. Aren’t the bookies being a little hasty here, or are they basing their forecast on the fact that Rune won the only direct qualifying duel in three sets in Barcelona in 2021?
The 19-year-old is experiencing a highly turbulent year. He was celebrated as a new shooting star, beat the world’s best and was suddenly a celebrated star. But the glorious moment is now a thing of the past.
Rune has fallen relatively low in terms of performance. Since the French Open, where he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and was only eliminated in the quarter-finals against Casper Ruud, he has only won a measly two matches!
In Montreal, he lost 0-6, 3-6 to Pablo Carreno Busta, in Cincinnati a few days ago, it was a very close match at 7-6, 6-4, 4-6 against Cameron Norrie. But there is definitely no talk of consistency for the Dane yet.
It will only be the second time that he will be allowed to play in the main draw of the US Open. In 2021, he was there for the first time after surviving the qualifying rounds and at least won a set in a 3-1 defeat against Novak Djokovic.
My Gojowzcyk Rune Tip
On paper, the duel between Peter Gojowzcyk and Holger Rune should be a clear-cut affair, but is one really in better shape than the other? Admittedly, the Dane collected his many defeats mostly against strong opponents.
Gojowczyk, on the other hand, often says goodbye already in the qualification. So a clear 3:0 for Rune? In fact, I advise against it for two reasons. The first is that the 19-year-old has only been able to celebrate twice since the French Open.
The second: Gojowczyk sensationally reached the round of 16 in New York a year ago, and these memories have already carried many others far forward. Therefore, my betting recommendation is also:
We see more than 3.5 sets!
