US Open 2013: Experts' picks for the men's draw

2. Early exit

David Ferrer

Haresh Ramchandani: He might come in ranked a career-high No. 5 in the world, but Tomas Berdych has always had problems in New York, barring a semifinal finish in 2012. The Czech could have trouble in the second round itself, against either of the youngsters Jiri Veseley and Denis Kudla.

SivaramL: My early exit pick is going to be David Ferrer. This might sound a bit harsh on the usually consistent Spaniard, but a poor hardcourt summer in USA and a potential R32 clash against Ernests Gulbis point to a likely first-week exit for Ferru.

Virendra: Spain’s David Ferrer has not exactly had the best of warm-ups to the US Open. He suffered early exits in both Montreal and Cincinnati and with the likes of the dangerous Latvian Ernests Gulbis in his quarter, things could get a little rocky for the 31-year-old from Valencia.

Roh: Tommy Haas’s ascension into the top 15 has been quite out of the ordinary. But discounting that achievement, the past few months have seen Haas slip under the radar with a series of underwhelming results, making him a potential early loser at Flushing Meadows.

Ram Narayanan: The presence of Ernests Gulbis is not a good sign for anyone in his draw. World No. 4 David Ferrer would most likely be meeting Gulbis in the third round, should he go past Thomaz Bellucci – another dangerous opponent – in the second. Playing two difficult matches back-to-back may wear the Spaniard down, making him a strong candidate for a first-week exit from the tournament.

BallnRacquet: Richard Gasquet is likely to be an early casualty in my book. To live up to his billing of being the eighth seed, he might have to score wins over Dmitry Tursunov and Milos Raonic in the third and fourth rounds respectively. Both Tursunov and Raonic have had good runs in recent tournaments and should make the path really tough for Gasquet. Given the Frenchman’s inconsistent showings at the Slams, it would not be shocking to see him packing his bags before the end of the first week.

Sumer: The popular Swiss No. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka has found himself with a tricky draw. He starts off with a tough first round against the gritty Radek Stepanek, and with James Blake, Marcos Baghdatis, Daniel Brands and Kevin Anderson – all quality players – in his section, the road is likely to get very tough for Wawrinka.

Musab Abid: John Isner comes into the tournament on the back of a sizzling run of form, but we’ve seen sizzle turn to fizzle from Isner at the Slams way too often to be deceived yet again. He has been talked up as the most dangerous pre-quarterfinal opponent in Rafael Nadal’s way (the two are slated to meet in the fourth round), but I don’t expect him to get that far, specially since he will likely face Gael Monfils in the second round.