.Third-round activity at the USA Open starts along with a third-round showdown in between Ben Shelton and also Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin are likewise pursuing a spot in the typical second full week of the tournament.Here are my picks for two of Friday's best competitions.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It's a rematch of the final summertime's united state Open quarterfinals, and this moment Shelton comes in with some requirements. In fact, he is the beloved against Tiafoe-- which wasn't the instance in 2023. Shelton was actually the longshot in their previous U.S. Open tilt, but he gained it in four collections and also became a shock semifinalist that pleased The big apple crowds along with his growing provide as well as big-stage personal appeal.
Both Shelton and also Tiafoe are participating in properly presently. The previous appeared confident in his straight-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old created the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Expert earlier this month. Tiafoe created it right to the Cincy final prior to catching Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is actually an excellent 2-0 in the head-to-head set. Seek it to become 3-0 when this set points.
Decide on: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and also Popyrin will definitely be squaring off at a third major in 2024 when they reunite on Friday. They likewise went head-to-head at the Australian Open as well as Wimbledon, along with Djokovic getting the job done in 4 collections both opportunities to take a general 3-0 lead in the H2H set. He also dominated 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo activity.
As those reasonable Grand Slam faces with Djokovic show, Popyrin is actually playing the greatest tennis of his job this year-- and also it is actually not even shut. He depends on 28th in the positions thanks in part to an Expert 1000 headline in Montreal consequently far in NYC the Aussie has actually absolutely punished both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. Sadly for Stand Out, Djoker has gained 18 embed in progression dating back to the Olympics. The 24-time slam champ has not given up a set to anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz considering that he dropped one to none aside from Popyrin in the Wimbledon third shot.
Select: Djokovic in 3Ricky adds to 10sballs. com and also sustains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.