.Third-round action at the united state Open begins with a third-round face-off between Ben Shelton as well as Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and also Alexei Popyrin are actually also trying for an area in the proverbial second full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for two of Friday's greatest matches.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (20) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the final summertime's U.S. Open quarterfinals, and also this moment Shelton comes in along with some assumptions. In fact, he is the preferred versus Tiafoe-- which had not been the instance in 2023. Shelton was actually the longshot in their previous united state Open tilt, but he won it in four sets and also came to be a shock semifinalist that pleased New york city groups with his thriving offer and also big-stage charisma.
Both Shelton as well as Tiafoe are actually participating in effectively currently. The former appeared self-assured in his straight-set get Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Professional previously this month. Tiafoe made it completely to the Cincy last just before succumbing to Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is actually an ideal 2-0 in the neck and neck set. Look for it to become 3-0 when this set points.
Choose: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and also Popyrin will definitely be actually contesting at a third major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They also went head-to-head at the Australian Open as well as Wimbledon, along with Djokovic finishing the job in four collections both times to seize a general 3-0 lead in the H2H series. He likewise prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo activity.
As those reasonable Grand Slam encounters with Djokovic show, Popyrin is participating in the best tennis of his career this year-- and it's certainly not also finalize. He falls to 28th in the positions thanks in part to an Expert 1000 headline in Montreal consequently far in NYC the Aussie has positively surged both Soonwoo Kwon and Pedro Martinez. Regrettably for Pop, Djoker has won 18 sets in sequence dating back to the Olympics. The 24-time slam champ has not submitted a set to any individual other than Carlos Alcaraz because he lost one to none aside from Popyrin in the Wimbledon 3rd round.
Pick: Djokovic in 3Ricky adds to 10sballs. com as well as likewise maintains his very own tennis website, The Grandstand. You may observe him on Twitter at @Dimonator.