.Third-round activity at the united state Open starts with a third-round showdown between Ben Shelton as well as Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin are actually likewise trying for a spot in the typical 2nd full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for two of Friday's greatest competitions.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the last summer's U.S. Open quarterfinals, and also this time Shelton comes in along with some requirements. In fact, he is the preferred versus Tiafoe-- which wasn't the instance in 2023. Shelton was actually the underdog in their previous USA Open tilt, yet he won it in 4 collections as well as ended up being a surprise semifinalist who pleased Nyc groups along with his booming serve as well as big-stage charisma.
Each Shelton and also Tiafoe are actually participating in well presently. The former looked certain in his straight-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters previously this month. Tiafoe made it all the way to the Cincy final prior to catching Jannik Evildoer.
Shelton is actually an excellent 2-0 in the head-to-head set. Search for it to become 3-0 when this set ends.
Pick: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and also Popyrin will definitely be actually squaring off at a 3rd major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They likewise went head-to-head at the Australian Open and also Wimbledon, along with Djokovic finishing the job in 4 collections both times to take possession of an overall 3-0 lead in the H2H set. He also prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo event.
As those affordable Grand Slam experiences along with Djokovic indicate, Popyrin is actually participating in the most ideal ping pong of his occupation this year-- and also it's certainly not even finalize. He is up to 28th in the ranks thanks in part to a Masters 1000 title in Montreal therefore much in New York City the Aussie has actually definitely thrashed both Soonwoo Kwon as well as Pedro Martinez. However for Stand Out, Djoker has won 18 embed in progression dating back to the Olympics. The 24-time slam champ has actually not surrendered a set to anybody aside from Carlos Alcaraz given that he lost one to none other than Popyrin in the Wimbledon 3rd shot.
Decide on: Djokovic in 3Ricky adds to 10sballs. com as well as also keeps his personal tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.