The US Open continues into the Third Round over the next couple of days and the tournament is back on track after the rain delays earlier in the week.
Another potentially wet week is coming up, but two courts with a roof should make sure the tournament is completed on time and without too much impact on the schedule of the Singles players hoping to pick up titles next weekend.
Frances Tiafoe - 1.5 sets v Valentin Vacherot: Despite two 2026 Grand Slam Champions still being involved in the draw at the US Open, there is still a feeling that the Men's tournament remains wide open.
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev will be the favourites with the layers, but a number of players have to be competing in New York City filled with belief that they can become a Major Champion.
Both of those players mentioned will receive plenty of support, but the American audience is always ready to get behind the home players and Frances Tiafoe is about as popular as any of his compatriots. The World Number 12 reached the Final at the Cincinnati Masters and has managed to come through the opening two Rounds at the US Open by winning some key points at critical times.
He will appreciate winning the Second Round match in straight sets having needed all five sets to come through the opening match and Frances Tiafoe is comfortable in this setting where his best Grand Slam results have been produced. Two Semi Final runs and a Quarter Final in between will give Frances Tiafoe plenty of confidence even if his 2025 US Open ended at this Third Round stage.
Frances Tiafoe will grind for everything he earns and he will need to dig in against Valentin Vacherot who has produced some solid hard court numbers in the previous two years.
Injury has been a factor in the slight slide out of the top 20 in the World Rankings, but Valentin Vacherot has won a couple of matches at the US Open to pick up some vital Ranking Points ahead of a big defence of the Shanghai Masters title won last year. This run has been relatively unexpected considering Vacherot had lost his opening match at both Montreal and Cincinnati and he is going to have to find a way to get himself into return games to see if he can put pressure on the home player.
Valentin Vacherot's two wins in this tournament have been against players Ranked 84 and 73 and this is a big step up compared to that level of opponent.
He has a serve that can cause problems for any opponent as everyone found out in Shanghai last year, but Frances Tiafoe can battle and dig and eventually he should have enough to move through in three or four sets in this Third Round match.
Jiri Lehecka - 1.5 sets v Stefanos Tsitsipas: Earlier this season, Jiri Lehecka reached the Miami Masters Final, but he has not had a lot of consistent success on the hard courts in 2026. Even in the build up to the US Open, Jiri Lehecka reached the Fourth Round in Montreal and was beaten in the Third Round in Cincinnati, but the World Number 19 has won his two matches in New York City without being pushed too hard.
With that said, Jiri Lehecka will know that the next opponent may be Ranked outside of the top 50, but one who has reached the Semi Final on three different occasions at the Australian Open.
Unfortunately for Stefanos Tsitsipas, his hard court Grand Slam level at the US Open is considerably poorer than the one he has managed to put together in Melbourne, and reaching the Third Round is as good as it has gotten in New York City.
He is back in the Third Round after an upset over Arthur Fils and then being able to back that up by beating Lloyd Harris in the Second Round. Stefanos Tsitsipas is another who had been struggling for consistent form in the build up to the US Open, although his issues have been season-long which has contributed to the slip down the World Rankings.
Both Jiri Lehecka and Stefanos Tsitsipas are going to be well aware that they need to serve well in this match- this has been the basis of any hard court success they have had this season.
However, the key to the outcome of this match is whether Stefanos Tsitsipas can maintain a solid return game, which has been a struggle all year. The win over Arthur Fils will give him confidence, but Tsitsipas has only broken in 13% of return games played against top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts before this tournament began.
Jiri Lehecka has an aggressive return game and he should have the edge on the return, while the last two meetings between these two players were back in 2024 when Stefanos Tsitsipas was Ranked considerably higher.
Those Rankings have flipped now and Jiri Lehecka will take confidence from having won the previous two matches against Stefanos Tsitsipas and doing so in pretty dominant style.
Pressure will have ramped up with a place in the second week on the line, but Jiri Lehecka can find a way to edge through some tight sets and eventually move into the Fourth Round with a win in three or four sets.
Carlos Alcaraz - 7.5 games v Yibing Wu: It is never going to be easy facing someone who has such a big game as Jaime Faria and Yibing Wu will know exactly how Carlos Alcaraz was feeling seeing as he lost a Second Qualifying Round match against Faria at the Cincinnati Masters.
The defending Champion took a bit of time to find his feet, but he cruised through the next three sets having dropped the opener and Carlos Alcaraz looks about as good as could be hoped after the long layoff from the Tour.
He will also be pretty happy that this little section of the draw has opened up and Carlos Alcaraz is going to be a big favourite to win this Third Round match. Playing at a high level at a Grand Slam event is something we have become very accustomed to seeing from the Spaniard and he has won the last two hard court Majors and that will give Alcaraz real aura any time he steps onto the court.
Yibing Wu has won back to back matches in straight sets, which will have given him a huge amount of confidence, although he will note that this is a significantly tougher challenge than those faced in the previous two Rounds. Neither opponent beaten has been Ranked inside the top 70, although both above Wu himself, and now the World Number 113 has to step up and take on a multiple time Slam Winner.
He had shown little form ahead of the US Open with a Second Round run in a Challenger event and then failing to Qualify for the Cincinnati Masters. An opening Round defeat in Winston Salem has just underlined where Yibing Wu is with his tennis and it is going to take a special effort to keep this one competitive.
Some heart can be taken from the fact that Yibing Wu pushed Carlos Alcaraz when they met at the Shanghai Masters in 2024, but there will be a different intensity about meeting the World Number 3 in a Grand Slam event.
Yibing Wu has struggled to earn breaks of serve when facing some of the top players on the Tour on the hard courts and his own serve. has not been nearly as effective as he would have hoped.
Over this format, you have to believe Carlos Alcaraz can turn the screw as he has been able to do in the Second Round and he may just find the breaks needed to secure a cover of this handicap mark set.
MY PICKS: Frances Tiafoe - 1.5 Sets @ 2.10 William Hill (2 Units)
Jiri Lehecka - 1.5 Sets @ 2.00 William Hill (2 Units)
Carlos Alcaraz - 7.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (2 Units)
Alexander Bublik-Tommy Paul Over 39.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Elina Svitolina - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Karolina Muchova - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Diana Shnaider - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (2 Units)
US Open Update: 14-7, + 8.76 Units (42 Units Staked, + 20.86% Yield)
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