American tennis has seen a rapid fall on the men's side the past couple years. This year, a big group of guys, led by John Isner, is ready to set things straight in the tennis world and have a big season. They've gotten off on the right foot, with Isner grabbing a title, as well as Steve Johnson, Jack Sock, Bradley Klahn and Donald Young having good performances. Now it's time for them to put it all together on the big stage at a Grand Slam, with the Australian Open being their first shot.
The player's 1R opponent is in parentheses. My prediction for their result is in parentheses at the end of each paragraph.
John Isner (Martin Klizan)
The World No. 13 will lead the American pack into Melbourne coming off a title in Auckland. This is his 2nd title in New Zealand, the 1st coming in 2010 which was followed up by his best result at the Australian Open. These are signs pointing to a good performance from the big man in Australia. Isner has drawn Klizan in the 1st round, a guy who didn't even qualify for the main draw, but got in thanks to a Lucky Loser. Klizan has really been struggling on tour as of late, and should not put up much of a challenge for the American. Blaz Rola, a potential 2R opponent for Isner, played very well in the qualies and could cause trouble for him, but expect John to breeze into the Round of 32. He will then most likely have to face Phil Kohlschreiber, a guy who has always given him trouble, however, John did just beat him in Auckland in 3 tiebreak sets which will give him the mental edge. In the Round of 16, Isner could face Andy Murray, a guy who is always eager to win matches. Reaching that far and taking a set or two off Murray would be a good result, but Isner wants more than that. He wants to match his best result at a slam, a quarterfinal, which would be a big boost for American tennis. If John could reach the quarters, his confidence would be at a high going into a match where he could face Tsonga, Cilic, or Federer. But of course we can't get ahead of ourselves, Day 1 hasn't even started yet.
John Isner holding up the champion's trophy after his title in Auckland.
Quarter-final loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Sam Querrey (Santiago Giraldo)
Querrey is known to struggle in the opening weeks of the season, something that he has not disproved so far this season. A 2nd Round and 1st Round loss in each of his first 2 tournaments won't give him much confidence going into Australia, but Sam will have to be mentally strong and play off the eagerness to prove to people that he can still be a Top 20 guy. The Giraldo draw is a good one, as he is known mostly for his play on clay courts, however he did win a match in Auckland last week. Sam should be able to defeat Giraldo and go on to face either Gulbis or Monaco in the 2nd Round. If it's Gulbis, expect the match to either be very tight or one-way traffic, and there will be no gray area. Each player either brings it or plays like they've never touched a tennis racquet before, hopefully it's the former for this match. The draw then opens up, as the seed he's been matched up with in the Round of 32 is Fabio Fognini, another guy that is known for his work on clay courts. Sam could easily get to the Round of 16, but he could also easily lose in the 1st Round. Expect Sam to raise his level in the Grand Slam atmosphere and get rid of some of his Australian Open demons.
Round of 16 loss to Novak Djokovic.
Tim Smyczek (Roberto Bautista Agut)
The 3rd ranked American goes into Melbourne coming off his best result at a slam, making the Round of 32 in New York. However, he got off to a bad start this year, losing 1st Round to Yen-Hsun Lu. Lu has played good tennis so far this year, making the final in Auckland, so hopefully that loss doesn't fester in the mind of Smyczek. His 1R opponent, Bautista Agut, has also started his year off hot, making the semi-finals in Auckland. If Smyczek can get through the Spaniard, he'll receive the gift of losing to Grand Slam champion, Juan Martin del Potro, in the 2nd Round. Del Potro is coming off a title in Sydney, in which he throttled a red-hot Bernard Tomic. Smyczek is capable of making the 2nd Round and winning a set or two off the Argentinian, but he'll have to play his best tennis to do so.
2nd Round loss to Juan Martin del Potro.
Rod Laver Arena
Donald Young (Robin Haase)
Young has some confidence coming into Australia after his appearance in Auckland, in which he made the 2nd Round a took a set off of World No. 3, David Ferrer. He's been matched up with Robin Haase, who is equally as streaky of a player as Young. Expect Young to play a brilliant match to defeat Haase in straights and then face Lleyton Hewitt in the 2nd Round. Hewitt won in Brisbane in the 1st week of the season and is playing in his home nation, things that don't bode well for Young. He is capable of taking down Hewitt if he plays at his highest level, but not in Australia where Hewitt feeds off the crowd so well. Donald Young is poised to have a breakout performance at a slam this year, but it won't come in Melbourne.
2nd Round loss to Lleyton Hewitt.
Michael Russell (Dmitry Tursunov)
With James Blake's retirement, Russell is now the veteran American on tour. He's been dealing with injuries recently, so hopefully for him he'll be able to get through a best-of-5 set match in Melbourne. He opens up with Tursunov, a guy who has really remade himself on the tour as he is up to No. 26, after dropping out of the top 100 not too long ago. It'll be a tough 1st Rounder for Russell, but never say that anything is out of reach for this man, as he has fought for everything in his career. If he can get through Tursonov, he's got either Baghdatis or Istomin in the 2nd Round, and then Djokovic in the Round of 32. Russell has the potential to get to a face off with Djokovic, however, the hard hitting of Baghdatis and Istomin will be able to take down the defensive style of Russell and knock him out of the tournament...if he even gets to the 2nd Round.
1st Round loss to Dmitry Tursunov.
Hisense Arena
Bradley Klahn (Grigor Dimitrov)
A very tough draw pits the upcoming American with one of the upcoming stars on the tour. Klahn has had a good start to the year as he's got a couple wins under his belt already. Unfortunately for him, those match wins won't give him enough confidence to take down Dimitrov, as he is ready to stake his claim on the tour this year and cement himself in the Top 20. Klahn will put up a good fight and probably win a set or two, but if he gets lucky and Dimitrov has one of those days where he just decides not to play, Klahn could face Jimmy Wang or Yen-Hsun Lu in the 2nd Round and the Milos Raonic or Peter Gojowczyk in the Round of 32. If he can defeat Dimitrov, then he should win his 2nd Round match to get in the Round of 32. But it's all about focusing on taking down one of the young stars of the game, in an attempt to become one himself.
1st Round loss to Grigor Dimitrov.
Jack Sock (Tobias Kamke)
Coming off a run to the quarterfinals in Auckland, Sock seems to have found his range. A tough loss to a hot Bautista Agut ended his run in New Zealand, but Sock is ready to start a new run in Melbourne. His 1st Round opponent, Kamke, gave Rafael Nadal trouble in Doha, but that was a perfect match from Kamke. Unless he plays like that again, Jack Sock will be able to roll into the 2nd Round, where he'd most likely face Gael Monfils. Monfils has played very well at the beginning of the year, making the final in Doha, so it'll be a tough match for the American. If Sock can find his highest level of tennis, him and Monfils will go five sets. Unfortunately for Sock, Monfils will be too much to handle, and he'll have the support of the crowd. Sock will, however, take confidence from the beginning of the season as he heads into the clay court season.
2nd Round loss to Gael Monfils.
Jack Sock playing a forehand during his run in Auckland.
Ryan Harrison (Gael Monfils)
Sock had a tough draw with having to play Monfils in the 2nd Round, but Harrison gets it even worse as he has to play Monfils in the 1st Round. As previously stated, Monfils is hot right now, but he can decide to not show up on certain days. Harrison will hope that opens for his 1st Round opponent, as the tennis world has not done him any favors recently. Harrison has worked so hard recently to get back to the level of tennis he's showed the past couple years, but tough draws like this hold him back. He should create a very entertaining match with Monfils, as both guys defend the court well and have a lot of variety in their games. If he can get past Monfils, he'd face Sock in the 2nd Round in a battle of young Americans. That would be a great match to watch as both guys are trying to prove themselves and move up in the tennis world. But, it's all about getting through to that match first.
1st Round loss to Gael Monfils.
Denis Kudla (Florian Mayer)
After getting through the qualifying draw, Kudla earns a pretty good draw in the 1st Round with Florian Mayer. Mayer did upset Murray in Doha, but Murray typically never plays well in the first couple weeks of the season. Kudla's got 3 matches under his belt already in Melbourne, so he's used to the conditions, and on top of that, he won 2 other matches in the 1st week of the season. So Kudla has 5 good wins in his pocket coming into this match, meaning he'll be ready to take on anyone in Melbourne. He got put into the most wide open quarterfinal section of the draw with the seeded players of Youzhny, Janowicz, Chardy and Ferrer. There's a big opportunity here for someone to take advantage of and make it into the final 8, but it won't be Kudla. He hasn't proved that he can put a lot of matches together at a tournament, especially not a slam. He is definitely capable of winning a couple matches in Melbourne, but he could also lose in the 1st Round.
2nd Round loss to Mikhail Youzhny.
The newly improved Margaret Court Arena
Rhyne Williams (Juan Martin del Potro)
Another guy who made it through the qualies, Williams is coming in with a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, he received a shot to the heart when he saw the draw and saw del Potro's name next to his. Williams played very well throughout the qualifying tournament, winning a tough match in the final round. He's coming into the main draw with a lot of confidence, but not enough to take down the big Argentinian. Williams has never made it past the 1st Round at a slam, thanks to a lot of tough draws, and that trend continues here in Melbourne. Of course, Williams will take a lot of knowledge out of this match and use it to his advantage in the rest of the season.
1st Round loss to Juan Martin del Potro.
Wayne Odesnik (Vincent Millot)
The 3rd American that earned a spot into the main draw through the qualifying tournament received the most favorable draw of any American. Odesnik has drawn fellow qualifier, Millot, in the 1st Round, and they will play their match on Court 74. Both players already have 3 wins under their belt in Melbourne, so both are very used to the conditions and will come into the match with a lot of confidence, especially Odesnik who won his final round match 8-6 in the 3rd set. Odesnik should win this match, and then have the pleasure of losing to Andy Murray in the 2nd Round. If he can pull off a miracle and get past Murray, then the draw would somewhat open up, as he would most likely face Feliciano Lopez in the Round of 32, a fellow left hander. There's no way Odesnik's journey would venture beyond that though, but he can't get down on himself if he does manage to make it that far.
2nd Round loss to Andy Murray.
Steve Johnson (Adrian Mannarino)
The lowest ranked of the Americans in the main draw has one of the best opportunities in the tournament. Johnson got a wild card into the main draw by winning the USA wild card playoff in December, and he opens up the tournament with the shaky Adrian Mannarino, a hot Steve Johnson has a tremendous chance to get into the 2nd Round and take on David Ferrer, a guy who has not played up to his 3rd-seed ability. Johnson and Ferrer were both just in Auckland where they each made the quarterfinals. The American has the type of game to take down Ferrer, so they should provide for an entertaining match that is winnable for both players, which would lead to a matchup with either Jeremy Chardy or Alex Dolgopolov. You never know what either of those guys will bring to the court with them, so if Johnson plays his best tennis, he could easily head into the Round of 16. Steve Johnson has shown that he has the potential to be on the same level as the top players, and this is the tournament that he will prove that to the tennis world.
Round of 32 loss to Alex Dolgopolov.
Steve Johnson with a backhand return during his run in Auckland.
Pictures courtesy of the Henieken Open website, Wikipedia, panoramio.com, and tennis.com.au
