.Third-round action at the USA Open begins along with a third-round showdown between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and also Alexei Popyrin are also trying for a location in the proverbial second full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for 2 of Friday's finest matchups.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the last summer season's U.S. Open quarterfinals, and also this time around 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 USA Open tilt, but he gained it in four sets and also became an unpleasant surprise semifinalist that pleased New york city crowds with his growing serve and big-stage charm.
Each Shelton and Tiafoe are playing well right now. The former appeared certain in his straight-set draw Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Expert previously this month. Tiafoe made it all the way to the Cincy final just before succumbing to Jannik Evildoer.
Shelton is a best 2-0 in the head-to-head collection. Look for it to become 3-0 when this set ends.
Pick: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and Popyrin will be contesting at a 3rd learn 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 four sets both opportunities to take a total 3-0 top in the H2H series. He additionally prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo celebration.
As those very competitive Conquest experiences with Djokovic show, Popyrin is playing the very best ping pong of his career this year-- and also it is actually certainly not also close. He is up to 28th in the rankings thanks partially to a Professional 1000 title in Montreal therefore far in NYC the Aussie has actually completely surged both Soonwoo Kwon and Pedro Martinez. Sadly for Pop, Djoker has actually succeeded 18 sets in succession going back to the Olympics. The 24-time bang champ has not surrendered a readied to anyone aside from Carlos Alcaraz considering that he lost one to none other than Popyrin in the Wimbledon third round.
Pick: Djokovic in 3Ricky adds to 10sballs. com and likewise maintains his own ping pong site, The Grandstand. You can observe him on Twitter at @Dimonator.