US Open 2022: Daniil Medvedev vs. Stefan Kozlov Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 US Open as Daniil Medvedev takes on Stefan Kozlov in the first round on Monday, August 29th, 2022.

Daniil Medvedev is the top seed at this year’s US Open and is the oddsmakers favorite to retain his crown. The Russian opens up against American Stefan Kozlov in what should be an innocuous first-round match. Will Medvedev avoid the upset?

Daniil Medvedev seems to have the bookies’ backing as he starts his title defense of the US Open on Monday. The Russian superstar is yet to win a big title this season, which probablysums up the state of the men’s rankings at this point. With Djokovic not playing the tournament due to his vaccination status against Covid-19, Medvedev will fancy his chances of claiming his second Grand Slam title and cement his status as the World No. 1. He should be pretty pleased with his draw in the first week, but things could get interesting from the fourth round, with Nick Kyrgios looming big.

Stefan Kozlov, for his part, is set to make his main draw debut at the 2022 US Open. Kozlov has failed six times in qualifying, but by virtue of getting his ranking close to the top 100, he has earned his shot to make an impression at Flushing Meadows. But he arrives in New York in terrible form, having lost his last eight matches on the trot. It is fair to say, he is unlikely to snap that run against the reigning champion.

Daniil Medvedev and Stefan Kozlov have not played each other on the ATP Tour, although they contested a qualifying round match at Wimbledon in 2016. Medvedev won that matcheasily in straight sets. The pair of them are two years’ apart, but Medvedev is clearly the superior player in every facet of the game. Despite his underwhelming year by his own lofty standards, I still think Medvedev will have a very decent tournament. Expect the top seed to make a statement in his opening round of this year’s US Open.