.Third-round activity at the U.S. Open starts with a third-round face-off between Ben Shelton and also Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and also Alexei Popyrin are also going for a place in the typical second week of the tournament.Here are my picks for two of Friday's best matchups.( 13) Ben Shelton vs. (20) Frances Tiafoe.
It's a rematch of the final summer's U.S. Open quarterfinals, and this moment Shelton is available in with some desires. In reality, he is actually the favored versus Tiafoe-- which wasn't the instance in 2023. Shelton was the underdog in their previous united state Open tilt, yet he gained it in 4 collections and also came to be a shock semifinalist that thrilled The big apple crowds along with his prosperous offer and big-stage charm.
Both Shelton and also Tiafoe are participating in well at the moment. The former looked confident in his straight-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old made the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters previously this month. Tiafoe created it completely to the Cincy last prior to succumbing to Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is actually an ideal 2-0 in the head-to-head collection. Search for it to be 3-0 when this one points.
Choose: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and also Popyrin are going to 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 and also Wimbledon, with Djokovic getting the job done in four collections both times to take a general 3-0 lead in the H2H series. He additionally prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo celebration.
As those very competitive Grand Slam comes across with Djokovic indicate, Popyrin is participating in the best tennis of his career this year-- and also it is actually certainly not even close. He is up to 28th in the ranks thanks in part to a Masters 1000 headline in Montreal consequently much in New York City the Aussie has positively whipped both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. However for Stand Out, Djoker has won 18 sets in progression dating back to the Olympics. The 24-time bang champ has actually certainly not submitted a set to any person other than Carlos Alcaraz given that he dropped one to none other than Popyrin in the Wimbledon 3rd shot.
Pick: Djokovic in 3Ricky provides to 10sballs. com as well as likewise maintains his personal ping pong web site, The Grandstand. You may follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.