It has not been a good day for American tennis, at least on the men's side of the tournament, with the likes of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe exiting the US Open before the second week is set to begin.
The Third Round at the final Grand Slam of the season is scheduled to be concluded on Saturday and there are some potentially big matches coming up.
As the tournament progresses and with the majority of the top names still going strong at the event, the matches that will matter most to the fans should be taking place more frequently. There are one or two portions of the draw that have begun to look wide open for a surprise name to have a very big impact at this Grand Slam, but the top contenders are still flying and it is hard to look past someone familiar picking up both Singles titles.
Alexander Zverev - 1.5 sets v Felix Auger-Aliassime: Some very late drama was attached to the win over Jacob Fearnley when the underdog decided to produce tennis of a ridiculous level, but Alexander Zverev was never in any danger of being pushed too much further.
The 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win has continued comfortable passage through the US Open draw and it is clear that Alexander Zverev is pretty happy for most people to talk about the 'big two'.
The World Number 3 is a former Finalist here and has done the same in Melbourne and Paris and so Alexander Zverev has to be confident in his ability to beat anyone and everyone he faces.
Next up is a match against Felix Auger-Aliassime who has yet to drop a set at the US Open and who has been playing some of his best hard court tennis of recent years over the course of the season. However, the Canadian did blow a two set lead in being dumped out of the Second Round at the Australian Open, while Auger-Aliassime has lost his last four hard court matches when facing a top 20 Ranked opponent.
Felix Auger-Aliassime certainly serves well enough to offer some resistance and he has had competitive matches when facing the best players, at least in the main. He was crushed by Jannik Sinner at the Cincinnati Masters, but that feels like an exception to the rule so Alexander Zverev will have to be very focused in what looks a quality match.
The German has been much more solid in the bigger matches compared with Felix Auger-Aliassime, while Alexander Zverev will hold the mental advantage.
The sole Grand Slam match between these players was won by Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon in 2021, but Alexander Zverev has won three of the four matches played against one another since then.
He has also won four of the five hard court matches, including a crushing win at the Miami Masters in 2024.
This should be more competitive than that match, but it is Alexander Zverev who looks more capable of coming out on top at key moments and the expectation is that he will progress in either three or, more likely, four sets.
Alex De Minuar - 7.5 games v Daniel Altmaier: After going 2-1 down in sets and losing serve very early in the fourth set, Daniel Altmaier could have easily begun to think about his exit plans from New York City.
Instead he battled back to win that set and then came through a really tough fifth set to upset Stefanos Tsitsipas and earn himself another match at the US Open.
He is also playing in the Doubles in this final Grand Slam of 2025, but the real challenge for Daniel Altmaier is going to be recovery. For the second match in a row, he has spent well over four hours on the court and that is going to accumulate within the body.
Making matters worse is the opponent.
Alex De Minaur has the movement and the defensive skills to really punish any fatigue that Daniel Altmaier is going to be feeling and this is going to make those hours spent on the court hurt for the underdog.
The World Number 8 won the title in Washington in the build up to this Grand Slam and he has been very comfortable through the first couple of Rounds.
Over the course of the season, Alex De Minaur has shown improvement in both service and returning numbers on the hard courts and he did reach the Quarter Final in his home Grand Slam before running into Jannik Sinner. The very top players look like they will have too many weapons for the top Australian player, but Alex De Minaur is very comfortable when facing opponents he is expected to beat as highlighted by the 24-4 record against players Ranked outside the top 20 on this surface in 2025.
One of those victories was against Daniel Altmaier on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam back in February and it was a strong win for the favourite.
Alex De Minaur dropped just five games in getting past this opponent on that day and you have to believe he can pull away from Daniel Altmaier in the second and third set once tiredness and the scoreboard really turn against the World Number 56.
Andrey Rublev - 6.5 games v Coleman Wong: The last twelve to eighteen months have been quite difficult for Andrey Rublev as he looks to avoid wasting unnecessary energy on the courts.
Most of that was through open frustration and he has admitted that it had been holding him back.
Consistency had seen Andrey Rublev reach six of seven Grand Slam Quarter Finals between May 2022 and January 2024, but he has now failed to progress beyond the Fourth Round in six straight Majors. With that in mind, the Quarter Final runs in Toronto and Cincinnati will have given the World Number 15 some confidence and he has looked pretty solid in the tournament so far.
The draw has opened up a little bit and Andrey Rublev next faces Coleman Wong who is the World Number 173.
Credit has to be given to Coleman Wong for coming through the Qualifiers and then upsetting Aleksander Kovacevic and Adam Walton. He has played a lot of tennis over the last week, but winning will have given him a lift, although Wong will be well aware that this is a big leap in level compared with the opponents he has beaten in the run to the Third Round.
The Coleman Wong serve could be a key weapon for him, but he has struggled when facing the top 100 Ranked opponents faced on the hard courts.
Focus will be key for Andrey Rublev.
If he can just not allow himself to become overly frustrated, Andrey Rublev should have the majority of Break Point chances in this match and it could lead to a routine win.
This has sometimes been Andrey Rublev's downfall, but he has looked better all around over the last month on the North American hard courts. He should have enough quality on the court to eventually break down and wear down this opponent and reach the Fourth Round for the sixth time in nine main draw appearances in New York City.
Naomi Osaka - 4.5 games v Daria Kasatkina: This has been a really productive month of tennis for Naomi Osaka and she is a very dangerous player in the women's draw at the US Open.
A two time former Champion here, Naomi Osaka's game is perfectly suited to the hard courts.
However, her return to the Tour has perhaps not been as smooth as hoped because Naomi Osaka has sometimes struggled to deal with expectation that will have been heaped on her shoulders. Everyone knows the level that Osaka can produce and the pressure has been on to reach that once again, which has perhaps contributed to some of the inconsistent results.
Things look a bit different right now and Naomi Osaka's confidence looks in a good place.
She will tested by Daria Kasatkina who has been a solid hard court player this season, but one who has struggled to get over the line in recent matches.
Two wins in New York City will have given her some confidence and Daria Kasatkina reached the Fourth Round at the Australian Open so is clearly happy playing on the hard courts.
However, this is a match that feels like it will be played on the Naomi Osaka racquet- if she serves well, Osaka should find plenty of short runs to attack, while the heavier groundstrokes could see her push Daria Kasatkina onto the back foot.
In their two previous meetings on the Tour, Naomi Osaka has dominated the outcome and that includes on the clay courts in Rome 2024. That may be a surface on which Daria Kasatkina would have felt she could compete best with this powerful opponent, but that was not the case and her own serve has vulnerabilities that Naomi Osaka can exploit in this Third Round match.
Coco Gauff - 5.5 games v Magdalena Frech: The first couple of wins at the US Open have not been as straight-forward as Coco Gauff would have hoped and she was in an emotional mood in the Second Round.
The former Champion in New York City, Coco Gaiff perhaps feels more pressure to impress the home fans and that was perhaps part of the reason she was feeling how she was the last time out.
She has faced a couple of awkward opponents, but Coco Gauff has to be more comfortable facing Magdalena Frech considering the two victories and manner of those against this opponent.
The World Number 33 had lost three hard court matches in a row before the two victories at the US Open, but Magdalena Frech has played really well here. The two wins have to give her confidence, although it should be stated that the draw has been a decent one for the Seeded player and this is a considerably tougher test.
Magdalena Frech will be hoping that Coco Gauff has something of an off day, but the reality is that the American is the better player and should be much more comfortable on this surface.
The match up has been one that Coco Gauff has enjoyed previously and it should mean this is one of the more routine wins in the Third Round.
Amanda Anisimova - 4.5 games v Jaqueline Cristian: Beating one American player may have upset the home crowd, but Jaqueline Cristian was doing the same in the Second Round.
Now she takes aim at a third American player in a row, although Cristian will be very much aware that Amanda Anisimova is the best of the three home hopes that she will have faced in the US Open.
The run to the Third Round has been a little surprising when you think Jaqueline Cristian had lost three hard court matches in a row, including early defeats in Cincinnati and Monterrey. All three of those defeats were in routine fashion and it could be a difficult challenge containing someone like Amanda Anisimova who is very keen to build on reaching the Wimbledon Final.
The defeat in the Final would have stung, but Amanda Anisimova is very confident on the hard courts and has looked good in the first two Rounds in New York City.
In matches against top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts, Cristian has really struggled to have much of an impact.
Amanda Anisimova has not been a dominant player, even if she has racked up the wins to move into the top 10 of the World Rankings.
There is definitely some room for improvement in the hard court numbers, although the confidence looks to be flowing through the American right now. She has picked up two very solid wins at Flushing Meadows and Amanda Anisimova has all of the qualities to secure another one, while doing just enough to cover the line that has been set for the match.
MY PICKS: Alexander Zverev - 1.5 Sets @ 1.61 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Alex De Minaur - 7.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev - 6.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Naomi Osaka - 4.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Coco Gauff - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (2 Units)
Amanda Anisimova - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
US Open Update: 15-9, + 6.44 Units (47 Units Staked, + 13.70% Yield)
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