.Third-round action at the USA Open begins with a third-round showdown between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and also Alexei Popyrin are additionally pursuing an area in the typical second full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for 2 of Friday's ideal matchups.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the final summer season's USA Open quarterfinals, as well as this moment Shelton can be found in along with some assumptions. In fact, he is the preferred against Tiafoe-- which had not been the case in 2023. Shelton was actually the longshot in their previous U.S. Open tilt, but he gained it in four collections and also came to be a shock semifinalist that delighted Nyc groups along with his thriving offer and big-stage charm.
Each Shelton and also Tiafoe are playing properly currently. The past appeared positive in his straight-set sway Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month. Tiafoe made it completely to the Cincy final just before succumbing to Jannik Criminal.
Shelton is actually a perfect 2-0 in the neck and neck set. Try to find it to be 3-0 when this one ends.
Pick: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and also Popyrin will definitely be contesting at a 3rd major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They also went head-to-head at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, with Djokovic getting the job done in 4 sets both times to take an overall 3-0 lead in the H2H series. He also prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo celebration.
As those competitive Conquest encounters with Djokovic indicate, Popyrin is participating in the most ideal tennis of his job this year-- and it is actually certainly not also shut. He falls to 28th in the rankings many thanks partially to a Professional 1000 label in Montreal consequently much in New York City the Aussie has completely thrashed both Soonwoo Kwon as well as Pedro Martinez. Unfortunately for Stand Out, Djoker has actually succeeded 18 embed in sequence going back to the Olympics. The 24-time slam champ has actually not submitted a set to anybody aside from Carlos Alcaraz because he dropped one to none apart from Popyrin in the Wimbledon third round.
Select: Djokovic in 3Ricky contributes to 10sballs. com as well as additionally preserves his own ping pong internet site, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.