Eugenie Bouchard Leads Quartet of Canadians in US Open Action

Canada has two men and two women in singles action on the opening day of the US Open and Al Dannity is here to break down their match-ups.

Eugenie Bouchard will look to make a big impression at Flushing Meadows on Monday. Bouchard faces a tough test against Karolina Pliskova on Court 13. The players are separated by just 13 ranking places but all the pressure will be on Bouchard, who is a -435 favourite. This will certainly be to the benefit of Pliskova who is an unknown quantity for Bouchard. The Czech however has failed to make a main draw since July, only bypassing qualifying for the US Open by virtue of her rank. Her last victory in a WTA Tour match was back at Wimbledon. That extended slump makes victory a tall order for the Czech.

Sharon Fichman is a +294 underdog against Sorana Cirstea but the world #95 can at least claim victory from their sole previous meeting. That however was back in 2010 and it’s an understatement to say the Romanian is a different player now. Cirstea reached the final in Toronto and enjoyed a deep run at Stanford. The early hard court swing saw similar results from Cirstea, who appears to play her best game on the North American portions of the tour. The Romanian was forced to retire from New Haven after just three games of her opening match but she will still be a step above what Fichman is used to facing on the ITF circuit.

It’s been a good summer for Vasek Pospisil. After recording a pair of opening round wins at the French Open and Wimbledon, he has attacked the hard court circuit with youthful abandon. Semi-final appearances in Montreal and Bogota coupled with a Challenger win in Vancouver have vaulted Pospisil up to 40th in the rankings. Today he faces Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva on Court 7. With just five matches at ATP Tour level this season and no victories, the Brazilian has accomplished a lot by just making the main draw. It’s unlikely he’ll pose much of a challenge to the rising Canadian.

Finally we come to one of the heroes of Canada’s Davis Cup win over Spain. Frank Dancevic hasn’t made much noise on tour this year, making the main draw at just three other events all year. Qualifying for the US Open went surprisingly smoothly, as Dancevic didn’t drop a set. Today he faces Robin Haase of the Netherlands on Court 10. Opting to skip the bulk of the summer swing, Haase stayed in Europe and made the final of Gstaad and the semis in Kitzbuhel. The late arrival hasn’t hurt the Dutchman much as he made it through two rounds at Winston-Salem before going out in three sets to Fernando Verdasco. The form book would suggest Haase makes it past Dancevic on Monday.