.Third-round activity at the USA Open begins along with a third-round face-off between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and also Alexei Popyrin are actually also pursuing a location in the typical 2nd week of the tournament.Here are my picks for two of Friday's ideal competitions.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It's a rematch of the final summertime's united state Open quarterfinals, and also this moment Shelton is available in with some expectations. As a matter of fact, he is the beloved versus Tiafoe-- which had not been the instance in 2023. Shelton was the underdog in their previous USA Open tilt, however he gained it in four collections and ended up being an unpleasant surprise semifinalist that delighted New york city groups with his flourishing serve and also big-stage charm.
Both Shelton and also Tiafoe are actually playing effectively presently. The former looked certain in his straight-set sway Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters previously this month. Tiafoe created it completely to the Cincy last just before catching Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is an excellent 2-0 in the head-to-head collection. Try to find it to be 3-0 when this set ends.
Pick: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and Popyrin will certainly be actually contesting at a 3rd learn 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They likewise went head-to-head at the Australian Open as well as Wimbledon, along with Djokovic doing the job in four collections both opportunities to seize a general 3-0 lead in the H2H collection. He additionally prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo occasion.
As those reasonable Grand Slam comes across along with Djokovic indicate, Popyrin is participating in the greatest ping pong of his occupation this year-- and it's certainly not also finalize. He is up to 28th in the rankings thanks partially to a Masters thousand label in Montreal therefore far in NYC the Aussie has positively punished both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. Unfortunately for Pop, Djoker has actually succeeded 18 sets in succession going back to the Olympics. The 24-time slam champ has actually not given up a set to anybody besides Carlos Alcaraz since he shed one to none apart from Popyrin in the Wimbledon 3rd shot.
Decide on: Djokovic in 3Ricky contributes to 10sballs. com as well as also sustains his personal tennis web site, The Grandstand. You can easily observe him on Twitter at @Dimonator.