.Third-round action at the U.S. Open starts with a third-round face-off in between Ben Shelton as well as Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic as well as Alexei Popyrin are likewise pursuing a place in the proverbial second week of the tournament.Here are my picks for two of Friday's ideal matchups.( thirteen) Ben Shelton vs. (20) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the last summertime's USA Open quarterfinals, and this time Shelton comes in with some desires. Actually, he is the beloved versus Tiafoe-- which had not been the case in 2023. Shelton was actually the underdog in their previous U.S. Open tilt, however he gained it in four collections and came to be a shock semifinalist who pleased New york city groups with his thriving provide and big-stage charisma.
Both Shelton and also Tiafoe are actually playing effectively right now. The former appeared positive in his straight-set draw Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month. Tiafoe made it right to the Cincy final before succumbing to Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is an excellent 2-0 in the neck and neck collection. Look for it to become 3-0 when this ends.
Choose: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic as well as Popyrin will certainly be squaring off at a 3rd major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They also went head-to-head at the Australian Open and also Wimbledon, along with Djokovic getting the job done in 4 sets both times to seize a general 3-0 lead in the H2H series. He additionally prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo event.
As those affordable Conquest encounters with Djokovic show, Popyrin is playing the greatest tennis of his career this year-- and also it's not also shut. He depends on 28th in the ranks thanks partly to a Masters 1000 label in Montreal therefore much in NYC the Aussie has actually definitely surged both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. Sadly for Pop, Djoker has succeeded 18 embed in progression dating back to the Olympics. The 24-time bang champ has certainly not relinquished a readied to anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz since he lost one to none besides Popyrin in the Wimbledon third round.
Choose: Djokovic in 3Ricky provides to 10sballs. com and additionally keeps his very own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.