US Open 2022, 2nd Round, Wednesday, 31.08.2022
Top favourites to win the US Open 2022 are a few, but who will emerge as the big surprise in the end? Jack Draper is the talk of the town at the moment, and he will definitely be one to watch out for in New York.
On Wednesday, he goes into his 2nd round and gets served a top 10 player right away. Nevertheless, at Bwin the Brit is not completely without a chance. In my Draper Auger-Aliassime tip, I now reveal why I expect more than three sets!
It will be an extremely interesting match that we have to expect on Wednesday between Jack Draper and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The bare facts on this one: The number 53 meets the number 8, is very close with odds of 2.90 to 1.40 for it.
This already shows that even our bookmakers do not expect Felix Auger-Aliassime, the clearly better-placed player, to prevail so easily here. We know the Canadian by now: He and his nerves don’t always work out.
Already in his first round here at the US Open, he made a small mistake, which, however, had no consequences. He won 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 against the Swiss Alexander Ritschard.
Auger-Aliassime was lucky because his opponent missed ten out of twelve break chances. He himself hit eight double faults, these facts already show that the necessary sovereignty is not yet there.
Although the 22-year-old’s performances have fluctuated wildly for ages, he has recovered from his Wimbledon drama. He was defeated 7-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 by Maxime Cressy in the very 1st round!
A result you always have to expect from him. Sometimes he beats the world’s best, then again he is eliminated against blatant outsiders. Because he often cannot control his nerves, he has only won one title, although he has been in the top 15 for a long time.
At least he should have very good memories of New York, because he played his best Grand Slam to date in the semi-finals in 2021. Nevertheless, it is striking that he only won one match without losing a set.
Auger-Aliassime loves long thrillers, including several tiebreaks. Will this also appeal to Jack Draper? The young Briton, who is only 20 years old, has played himself into the limelight in the last few months.
After twice at Wimbledon, this is only the third time he has ever played in the main draw at a Grand Slam. Here in New York he started well. He did not show any weakness against Emil Rusuuvuori, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
His preparation for the US Open was already very good, in Winston-Salem as well as in Montreal Draper had reached the quarter-finals. Especially his wins against Gael Monfils and Stefanos Tsitsipas caused a stir.
No question, the left-hander is absolutely on the rise. His premiere in New York showed how confidently he had his nerves under control. So is he already the opposite of a Felix Auger-Aliassime?
My Draper Auger-Aliassime Tip
Neither Jack Draper nor Felix Auger-Aliassime must have been happy when they found out: We meet in Round 2! The Canadian definitely showed weaknesses in his 1st round, his even younger competitor did not.
Draper has also come into view among enthusiasts. In his first US Open he has nothing to lose, next he cracks the top 50. Can there also be a surprise on Wednesday?
In my eyes, Auger-Aliassime is not consistent enough to give an up-and-coming player like Draper a run for his money. But since he undeniably possesses enormous class, my money is on:
We’ll see at least four sets!
