.Third-round action at the U.S. Open starts along with a third-round face-off between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin are likewise pursuing a place in the proverbial second full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for 2 of Friday's greatest matchups.( thirteen) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the final summertime's united state Open quarterfinals, and this time Shelton can be found in with some desires. In reality, he is the preferred against Tiafoe-- which wasn't the situation in 2023. Shelton was actually the underdog in their previous U.S. Open tilt, however he won it in four sets as well as became a surprise semifinalist who delighted The big apple groups along with his growing provide as well as big-stage personal appeal.
Both Shelton as well as Tiafoe are actually participating in effectively right now. The past appeared self-assured in his straight-set gain Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old created the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Expert previously this month. Tiafoe created it right to the Cincy ultimate before succumbing to Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is actually a perfect 2-0 in the head-to-head set. Look for it to become 3-0 when this set points.
Select: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and Popyrin are going to be actually squaring off at a 3rd major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They additionally went head-to-head at the Australian Open and also Wimbledon, with Djokovic finishing the job in 4 collections both opportunities to seize a total 3-0 lead in the H2H collection. He likewise prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo celebration.
As those very competitive Conquest encounters with Djokovic show, Popyrin is participating in the very best tennis of his occupation this year-- as well as it is actually not even finalize. He is up to 28th in the rankings many thanks partly to a Masters thousand label in Montreal therefore much in NYC the Aussie has actually absolutely punished both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. However for Pop, Djoker has actually succeeded 18 embed in succession going back to the Olympics. The 24-time bang champ has actually certainly not relinquished a set to anyone apart from Carlos Alcaraz since he dropped one to none besides Popyrin in the Wimbledon third round.
Pick: Djokovic in 3Ricky contributes to 10sballs. com as well as likewise preserves his personal ping pong web site, The Grandstand. You may follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.