Out of the four Grand Slams played on the Tour, the US Open always feels like the one where the crowd participation moves up another level.
And when Daniil Medvedev is out on the New York City courts, the energy is that much more intense in the stands.
Once again the former US Open Champion was involved in a dogfight that had the crowd's emotions swinging and swaying throughout, but this time Daniil Medvedev was not able to get over the line. His body language made it clear that he was devastated at the end of the five set defeat to Benjamin Bonzi and a poor year in the Slams means Medvedev is set to drop out of the top 20 of the World Rankings.
It was the major upset of Day 1 at the US Open, but the main names found a way to get through even if there were some concerns about Novak Djokovic during his win over Learner Tien.
Playing on Sunday means having two full days of rest before the Second Round and that feels important for Djokovic, although he will also be very glad that he was not pushed into a fourth or fifth set.
The former World Number 1 provided the fourth winner of Day 1 and that has given the US Open numbers an early boost.
Day 2 looks tougher on paper and only two selections will be made, both from the men's side of the tournament.
Casper Ruud - 1.5 sets v Sebastian Ofner: It has been a difficult couple of months for Casper Ruud and he has suffered a couple of poor defeats on the hard courts in the build up to the US Open.
Pairing up with Iga Swiatek to reach the Final of the new Mixed Doubles tournament a few days ago may have just helped Casper Ruud settle back down as he looks to make an impact at the last Grand Slam of 2025. He has previously had success on the courts of New York City, so there will be some confidence ahead of the start of this tournament, but Casper Ruud is going to have to improve his level if he is going to reach the business end of this Slam.
The hard court numbers of the last couple of years have not been the most impressive, but Casper Ruud should still have enough about his all-around game to get the better of Sebastian Ofner.
The World Number 141 has had injury problems and he has played just three hard court matches in 2025 with all ending in defeats. However, Sebastian Ofner will take some confidence from the fact he has won sets in the last two defeats in Cincinnati and Winston Salem, although it will be noted that he has not really been facing some of the stronger players on the Tour.
He has been serving well enough to be dangerous, but the problem for Sebastian Ofner has been trying to get enough out of his return to avoid being put under scoreboard pressure.
It continues to be a part of his tennis that has yet to to get back up to speed since his return, but Sebastian Ofner has to be respected having reached the Third Round at Wimbledon last month. He upset Tommy Paul in the Second Round in SW19, while Ofner went five sets before losing to Karen Khachanov at the French Open, and so this could still be a challenging match for Casper Ruud.
The two previous matches between the players have both been won by Casper Ruud on the clay courts he favours over other surfaces, but there is an opportunity for the World Number 12 to work his way into the US Open with a solid enough victory in the First Round.
Backing Ruud to win in either three or four sets makes more sense than this handicap line considering what we have seen from Sebastian Ofner at the last two Grand Slam events. His hard court preparation has been disappointing though and Casper Ruud's Mixed Doubles matches should help the former US Open Finalist to come through.
Karen Khachanov - 1.5 sets v Nishesh Basavareddy: The retirement in Cincinnati has to be a concern, but there was an illness going through the locker room at that tournament and the conditions were brutally hot.
After all of the tennis that Karen Khachanov had to play in Toronto to reach the Final of the Canadian Masters, it was perhaps a factor in that withdrawal in Cincinnati and there has been enough time for the World Number 9 to get ready for the US Open. The strong hard court results this summer have followed a run to the Quarter Final at Wimbledon and so Karen Khachanov will be looking for a big tournament here.
Three of the last four appearances at the US Open have ended in First Round losses, although the exception was a Semi Final run in 2023.
It does potentially mean Karen Khachanov is vulnerable in this match against a young home player, but Nishesh Bashavareddy is pretty inexperienced and has struggled when facing top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts.
The 20 year old is the World Number 106 and may feel he has nothing to lose, but his hard court numbers against the stronger players on the Tour have not been very impressive. Nishesh Basavareddy has held 77% of the service games played in those matches against top 50 Ranked players, but he has broken in just 11% of return games played and that could see him struggle to stick with the level that Karen Khachanov could bring to the court.
He is a far superior server at this stage of the respective careers and Karen Khachanov has shown he can put some solid returning on the board.
Those returning numbers have been really good when Karen Khachanov has met opponents Ranked outside of the top 50 on this surface and he should come through in three or four sets in this opening match.
MY PICKS: Casper Ruud - 1.5 Sets @ 1.53 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Karen Khachanov - 1.5 Sets @ 1.53 Bet Fred (2 Units)
US Open Update: 4-0, + 6.70 Units (8 Units Staked, + 83.75% Yield)
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