| Jon Wertheim's U.S. Open
Preview
Posted: Fri August 28, 1998
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim gives his take
on what will happen at the U.S.
Open. Click here to send a question to his Tennis Mailbag.
Men's Draw | Women's
Draw
Predictions
Semifinals: Pete Sampras vs. Patrick Rafter; Richard Krajicek vs. Alex
Corretja
Finals:
Sampras over
Krajicek
Seed
Report
1. Pete
Sampras. Yeah, yeah, we know. He's tired, he's getting old, he's
had a lousy summer. Fact remains, the guy is a machine in
the big-ticket events. Says here he digs deep and ties Roy
Emerson's record 12 Grand Slam
titles.
2. Marcelo
Rios. "Hey, Marcelo, you're the number one player in the
world! What are you going to do now?" Never mind
Disney World. The flayin' Chilean promptly lost three of
four matches. His impressive run of Grand Slam futility
will continue in New York. Look for a
second-round loss to Magnus
Larsson.
3. Patrick
Rafter. Defending champ is peaking at the right time. Only
Sampras, equipped with a reserve tank of fuel, should
prevent him from
repeating.
4. Petr
Korda. Korda is a chronically underrated player with beautiful
strokes, but his final appearance in New York will be a
forgettable one. He's 31, he's a new dad, and he's ready
for the next phase of life. Look for him to lose early and
then
retire.
5. Richard
Krajicek. The player Andre
Agassi
calls "Crackerjack" always comes with a surprise.
Could either win the whole event or lose his first-round
match. He's (over)due for a solid
Open.
6. Greg
Rusedski. After a breakthrough last year, the Canuck-turned-Limey
has been hobbled by injuries. I like his unrelenting
serve-and-volley game, but wonder if he's healthy enough to
make real noise. Tough first-round opponent, though, in
Wayne
Ferreira.
7. Alex
Corretja. Will try to exorcise epic loss to Sampras in 1996
quarterfinals. Best of the Spanish Armada on hard courts,
Corretja has huge sleeper
potential.
8. Andre
Agassi. Fan favorite has lost momentum since winning 15 straight
matches earlier this summer. Three-of-five-sets format
works to his advantage but AA is still too erratic to run
the table. If he doesn't lose to Karol Kucera in the round
of 16, Pete will get
him in the
quarters.
9. Karol
Kucera. Another dark horse, Kucera won the New Haven tuneup event
last week. Like his coach, Miloslav Mecir, the "Little
Cat" lulls opponents to sleep with quiet efficiency
before
pouncing.
10. Carlos
Moya. Barring a last-minute surface change, this clay-court
specialist won't survive second-round match with Michael
(remember me?)
Chang.
11. Yevgeny
Kafelnikov. Russian rocket is always dangerous, but rarely rises to
the
occasion.
12. Jonas
Bjorkman. After nearly making the finals last year, he has had a
mediocre-bordering-on-disappointing 1998. Could very easily
lose first match to Cedric
Pioline.
13. Tim
Henman. This not being Wimbledon, Henman will perform his
specialty: play well for a few rounds, serve poorly and
lose graciously to a higher seed. Tough first opponent in
Scott
Draper.
14. Goran
Ivanisevic. Your guess is as good as mine. Or his for that matter.
Lousy draw has him starting off against cagey Mark
Woodforde.
15. Alberto
Berasategui. See Moya. Loses to Thomas
Muster
in first
round.
16. Albert
Costa. See
Berasategui.
Miscellaneous
Darkhorses: Agassi lookalike Nicholas Kiefer; tennis's answer to
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jan-Michael Gambill; always perilous Jan
Siermerink, Byron Black and Scott
Draper.
Attention shoppers, has anyone
seen: Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Arnaud Boetsch, Gustavo
Kuerten, Sergi
Bruguera?
First-round match to
watch: Marat Safin vs. Magnus
Gustafsson
Also: Women's
Draw
Send a question to Jon Wertheim's Tennis Mailbag.
| 
