.Third-round activity at the U.S. Open starts with a third-round showdown in between Ben Shelton and also Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and also Alexei Popyrin are actually also aiming for an area in the typical second full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for 2 of Friday's absolute best matchups.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the final summertime's united state Open quarterfinals, as well as this time around Shelton is available in with some desires. Actually, he is actually the favorite against Tiafoe-- which wasn't the situation in 2023. Shelton was actually the underdog in their previous USA Open tilt, however he gained it in 4 sets as well as ended up being a shock semifinalist who pleased Nyc groups along with his thriving provide as well as big-stage personal appeal.
Each Shelton and Tiafoe are actually playing effectively at the moment. The past looked certain in his straight-set gain Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month. Tiafoe created it right to the Cincy final before catching Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is actually an ideal 2-0 in the head-to-head set. Search for it to become 3-0 when this one ends.
Select: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic as well as Popyrin are going to be actually squaring off at a third major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They additionally went head-to-head at the Australian Open as well as Wimbledon, along with Djokovic getting the job done in four sets both times to take possession of a total 3-0 lead in the H2H series. He additionally dominated 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo activity.
As those affordable Grand Slam comes across with Djokovic show, Popyrin is playing the very best tennis of his career this year-- and also it's not also shut. He is up to 28th in the positions many thanks partially to a Professional thousand title in Montreal and so far in New York City the Aussie has actually completely thrashed both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. Unfortunately for Pop, Djoker has won 18 embed in progression dating back to the Olympics. The 24-time slam champ has actually not relinquished a readied to anybody other than Carlos Alcaraz because he lost one to none besides Popyrin in the Wimbledon third shot.
Pick: Djokovic in 3Ricky contributes to 10sballs. com and also keeps his very own ping pong internet site, The Grandstand. You may follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.