.Third-round action at the united state Open begins with a third-round face-off in between Ben Shelton and also Frances Tiafoe on Friday. Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin are actually likewise aiming for a spot in the typical 2nd week of the tournament.Here are my selections for two of Friday's finest matches.( thirteen) Ben Shelton vs. (twenty) Frances Tiafoe.
It is actually a rematch of the last summer months's USA Open quarterfinals, and also this time around Shelton comes in with some requirements. As a matter of fact, he is actually the beloved against Tiafoe-- which had not been the scenario in 2023. Shelton was actually the longshot in their previous U.S. Open tilt, but he won it in four sets as well as became a shock semifinalist who pleased Nyc crowds along with his thriving offer and also big-stage charm.
Both Shelton and also Tiafoe are playing effectively at the moment. 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 Expert earlier this month. Tiafoe created it all the way to the Cincy ultimate before catching Jannik Sinner.
Shelton is actually an ideal 2-0 in the head-to-head collection. Search for it to be 3-0 when this points.
Choose: Shelton in 4( 28) Alexei Popyrin vs. (2) Novak DjokovicDjokovic and also Popyrin will definitely be actually contesting at a 3rd major in 2024 when they meet again on Friday. They additionally went head-to-head at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, with Djokovic finishing the job in 4 collections both opportunities to take possession of a general 3-0 lead in the H2H set. He likewise dominated 6-4, 6-2 at the 2019 Tokyo event.
As those reasonable Grand Slam comes across along with Djokovic signify, Popyrin is participating in the best tennis of his job this year-- as well as it's certainly not also finalize. He falls to 28th in the rankings thanks partly to a Masters 1000 headline in Montreal therefore much in New York City the Aussie has actually absolutely thrashed both Soonwoo Kwon and also Pedro Martinez. However for Pop, Djoker has actually gained 18 sets in sequence going back to the Olympics. The 24-time bang champ has actually certainly not surrendered a set to any individual besides Carlos Alcaraz because he shed one to none besides Popyrin in the Wimbledon 3rd round.
Select: Djokovic in 3Ricky contributes to 10sballs. com and also maintains his very own ping pong website, The Grandstand. You may follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.