Gael Monfils versus Donald Young

The running shoes will be on in this second-round clash between Gael Monfils and Donald Young.  They are two of the fastest players on tour and love to inject plenty of flare into their style of play.  Of the pair, Monfils is certainly the more well-known showman and the more accomplished player.  His showmanship has earned him fans all over the globe, and while it has sometimes held him back, he is hardly all style with no substance.  On the contrary, he is solid from both wings, earns his share of free points off the serve, and is decent at the net.  When at his best, his game is superior to the American's.  Equally important, he is a better and more patient competitor, as well as someone who has more experience contesting matches at this level. 

But do not count out Young's chances.  He has the speed to match the eighteenth seed in terms of court coverage, and when firing on all cylinders, can really lean into his backhand and utilize his lefty forehand to open the court.  Furthermore, their head-to-head is even at one-apiece, so despite the differences in their accomplishments, Young comes into this match knowing he has what it takes to earn the upset.  That is unlikely,as if the Frenchman is anywhere near his best, he gets the win, but Young has a look at derailing his title hopes.

Dominic Thiem versus Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz is a promising talent that American fans hope will one-day blossom into a Grand Slam champion.  While realizing that dream at this year's US Open is all but impossible, he will have a look at taking a step in the right direction by potentially collecting an impressive victory over sixth seed, Dominic Thiem.  On paper, that looks like a daunting task, particularly as they are currently separated by 100 places in the rankings.  For sure, Thiem will be the heavy favorite.  The Austrian is a powerful shot-maker, known for his sweeping, one-handed backhand but able to absolutely punish the ball with his forehand.  He also gets good pop on his serve.  He has accumulated many nice wins of his own this season, which is why he finds himself in the Top 10. 

That said, the surface where he consistently finds success is the clay because it allows him the time he needs for his big wind-ups on the ground strokes.  Those same ground strokes are more of a liability on the hard courts, which is why he has been more hit-or-miss on that surface, and this summer has been no exception.  That is also why the American teenager has a look at garnering the upset.  He has the powerful serve and the forehand to go with it.  His favorite tournament is the US Open, and he is more at home on the quicker hard courts.  Couple that with the home crowd support in his back pocket and perhaps an upset might be in the cards.  No one should bet against the Austrian living up to his seeding, but if Fritz can keep it close and apply some scoreboard pressure, then there is more than a little sliver of hope that he could walk away with the victory.

Karolina Pliskova versus Nicole Gibbs

One of the hottest topics heading into the US Open was the number of women who could leave New York with the world no. 1 ranking.  Among that list is the top seed Karolina Pliskova.  The Czech reached the final here last year and would dearly love to go one better in 2017. To keep that dream alive, she will first have to get by Nicole Gibbs, a task she will be heavily favored to do.  Gibbs is a solid, all-around player.  She was outstanding at the collegiate level, and she cracked the Top 70 last year.  She has been enjoying some success at the ITF level, and she did reach the third round of the Australian Open earlier this season.  She is also the type of player that can trouble Pliskova if the top seed is having one of her off days. 

The issue for the American, however, is that she will likely have to make Pliskova uncomfortable to extract unforced errors from her racket, and Pliskova has little reason to fear that will happen.  She boasts the more imposing game from the ground and on serve, and her net play is one of the most underrated aspects of her game.  In addition to that, she has enjoyed more success and experience at the main tour level.  And although Gibbs did win one of their three prior meetings, the Czech did not surrender a single game in their most recent counter, which came two years ago in Sydney.  Barring an error-strewn performance from Pliskova, she is going to remain in the hunt for Number 1 and the 2017 US Open crown.