Each day during the U.S. Open, Richard Pagliaro will preview three must-see matches—and offer his predictions. (For the women's Day 1 Three to See, click here.)
**Louis Armstrong Stadium: James Blake vs. Lukas Lacko
<em>Head-to-head: First meeting</em>**
Lacko is the younger, healthier, and higher-ranked player. He was a finalist in Zagreb and reached the third round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Blake, a new father, is in the twilight of a career that saw him reach a career-high rank of No. 4 and twice contest the U.S. Open quarterfinals. But banged-up and slowed by injuries, Blake has won just five ATP main-draw matches this year.
The American craves pace and should get it on the fast Flushing Meadows courts. The Yonkers-born, Fairfield, Conn.-raised 32-year-old knows he won't be playing too many more matches at his home major, and should be inspired. Blake has not won a major match since the opening round of the 2011 U.S. Open; Lacko has never won a U.S. Open match. If Blake is striking his forehand with conviction and can play with a bit of control and patience, he can win this match.
The Pick: Blake in four sets.
**Court 4: Feliciano Lopez (30) vs. Robin Haase
<em>Head-to-head: Haase leads 1-0</em>**
Haase won his first title of the year in July, but has won just one match since then. The Dutchman is dangerous because he's a hard hitter who can drive the ball down the line off both wings. Lopez can play attacking tennis behind his lefty serve and fine net skills, however, he has a losing record on hard courts both this season and in his career.
This is a match Haase can win if he takes the offensive initiative and is seeing plenty of second serves from the Spaniard. But ultimately, Lopez is the more experienced and better competitor, and he has enjoyed more success in New York—reaching the fourth round twice, while Haase has just one U.S. Open win in his career. For those reasons, we favor F-Lo.
The Pick: Lopez in four sets.
**Court 13: Igor Andreev vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu
<em>Head-to-head: Tied 3-3</em>**
An interesting tactical match, as Andreev's inside-out forehand to the opponent's backhand is his signature shot, while Mathieu's two-handed backhand is his soundest stroke. But Andreev likes a little bit more time to set up for his crunching forehand, which is one reason why his best results have come on clay. The 97th-ranked Russian has only one win during this year’s U.S. Open Series.
Sidelined by a knee injury for all of last season, Mathieu has struggled to find his form and fully recover, though he did score a memorable, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16 victory over John Isner in a five-hour, 41-minute epic at the French Open in May. The former world No. 12 has been vulnerable to nerves in prior big matches, but should feel less pressure as the lower-ranked player here.
This is a tough one to call because little has separated Andreev and Mathieu in past meetings, and neither man has been consistent in recent weeks, but we'll take a shot with the 128th-ranked Frenchman.
The Pick: Mathieu in five sets.