There has been a lot of talk surrounding the tumbling of the Men's Seeds at the US Open, but it has felt like the top of the ATP Tour is dominated by three names right now and with everyone else playing catch up.
Even including Alexander Zverev alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner may not be for everyone, but the German is a Grand Slam Champion in 2026 and that deserves respect.
However, below those three players, you could make an argument that very little separates Felix Auger Aliassime in the World Number 4 spot and Jiri Lehecka down in World Number 24.
That leaves those players vulnerable to upsets.
And while you do not want to single players out, Alex De Minaur is someone who has been a feature of the top ten for a while and who is looking to reach the ATP Finals for a third straight year, but who has never played in the Semi Final of any Grand Slam.
That kind of highlights the lack of high quality depth on the Men's Tour, although it does mean the tournaments will feel wide open to a surprise run or two even as the likes of Zverev, Sinner and Alcaraz continue to make their passage through the tournament.
Some may say that is being overcritical, but it has been a criticism aimed at the top of the WTA Tour for a long time.
This year the top names have been more consistent in Grand Slams, although a surprising winner continues to pop up as Linda Noskova showed at Wimbledon.
However, the young Czech player looks like someone who will be aiming to join the elite of the WTA Tour and she remains involved at the US Open having already earned her spot in the Quarter Final.
That means that while five of the top 20 of the Men's Rankings remain in the draw at the final Grand Slam of the season, the Women's tournament has seven of the top nine and nine of the top 20 still fighting it out for the title.
All of the top six in the current World Rankings are still in the tournament and the WTA looks in a good place when noting that five of those players are under 29 years old and it is a list that does not include Iga Swiatek who is 25 years old and the current World Number 9!
The middle of the US Open saw a dip in the early tournament form for the Tennis Picks, but the weekend has produced a recovery to get the number back into a very healthy position.
Nothing has been achieved yet with seven days remaining in New York City, but the momentum is back behind the selections and that is hopefully something that can be built upon as the Quarter Final lineup is confirmed at the end of Monday's play.
Alexander Zverev - 6.5 games v Luciano Darderi: If you were to look at the Luciano Darderi record on the hard courts over the last couple of years, you would expect this player to one of the more vulnerable Seeds in the early Rounds at the Australian Open and US Open. He is playing in New York City as the Number 21 Seed, but Luciano Darderi has perhaps surprisingly made the second week at the US Open, which surpasses the run to the Third Round from 2025.
It also comes in the same year in which Luciano Darderi reached the Fourth Round at the Australian Open, although there is a real difference in the level of opponent that the Italian has had to beat in Melbourne compared with this tournament.
As the draw has opened up around Luciano Darderi, it has also meant he has not had to beat anyone Ranked inside the top 100 in the opening three Rounds at the US Open. Unsurprisingly he has made pretty comfortable passage through those matches, but it also has to be questioned whether he has had the toughness of challenge to be ready to compete with some of the very best players on the Tour.
The top Seed and French Open Champion Alexander Zverev is next up and the World Number 2 will be very happy to have come through the Third Round match in straight sets. He has already played consecutive five set matches in the first couple of Rounds at the US Open and that accumulation of tennis is always a concern, but Alexander Zverev can make decent recovery if he can back up his Third Round win by putting another comfortable victory on the board.
He is certainly the superior hard court player of the two competing, although Luciano Darderi will take confidence from having beaten Alexander Zverev on the Rome clay courts in the lead up to the French Open.
Scheduling this Fourth Round match for the second of the Night Session matches on Arthur Ashe may actually suit Luciano Darderi with the court likely to play a little slower than it would do in the heat of the day.
That has to be a concern for those backing Alexander Zverev, but he should be the more comfortable in the match and the performance in the Third Round is encouraging. The serving numbers on the hard courts can be a big difference in favour of the top Seed in the Men's draw and there is an expectation that the German may end up finding the breaks of serve needed to cover this handicap.
Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 games v Anastasia Potapova: When these two compatriots met on the clay courts of Linz earlier this year, Anastasia Potapova made a very fast start and too the first set, but Mirra Andreeva recovered to win that match in three sets.
That was a tournament played in the build up to the French Open, which was eventually won by Mirra Andreeva, and the World Number 5 has yet to drop a set on her way to the Fourth Round of the US Open for the first time. The first five sets have all been won in dominant fashion, but Mirra Andreeva had to hold herself together to win a tie-breaker to avoid a third deciding set in the Third Round win.
No one can really complain about the numbers being produced by Mirra Andreeva on the hard courts, although she has struggled against the elite players. To win another Grand Slam, that will have to change, but Mirra Andreeva will take a lot of confidence into this Fourth Round match knowing she has an 18-3 record on the hard courts against opponents Ranked outside of the top 20.
The first serve has been really effective in those matches and Mirra Andreeva wins 50% of return points played, which will always give her a chance if producing that kind of form again.
Further confidence will be taken from the fact that Andreeva has beaten Anastasia Potapova twice in Grand Slam events at Wimbledon in 2023 and, more notably, here at the US Open last year. That was a match that ended 6-1, 6-3 in favour of Mirra Andreeva, although Anastasia Potapova has been able to move from World Number 53 twelve months ago into World Number 25 at the 2026 US Open.
Anastasia Potapova has not been at her consistent best on the hard courts this year and had a losing record on the surface before the US Open began, but three wins have turned that around. The opening two wins were against opponents Ranked outside of the top 100, but it is the Potapova win over Amanda Anisimova in the Third Round that will have provided a huge shot of confidence.
Before the win over Anisimova, Anastasia Potapova had lost all four matches against top 20 Ranked opponents and the last three defeats had seen her crumble away on the scoreboard.
Diana Shnaider beat Anastasia Potapova for the loss of three games in Washington, but Elina Svitolina was even more dominant having dropped two games in Toronto.
Serving well is going to be absolutely key for Anastasia Potapova, but she will do well to keep Mirra Andreeva at bay and that will mean pressure on the former to pick up her levels on the return.
It all looks unlikely though and Mirra Andreeva can win and cover this handicap mark.
Coco Gauff - 3.5 games v Iva Jovic: After coming through an intense Third Round match, Iva Jovic will be hoping the experience will be something that can aid the development of her career.
At 18 years old, Iva Jovic is already playing at a peak career World Ranking mark just outside of the top 10 and it has been a strong year for the teenager. Results at Grand Slams will stick out the most and Iva Jovic has reached the Quarter Final at the Australian Open, Third Round at the French Open and Fourth Round at Wimbledon before moving into the second week here at the US Open.
There is so much to like about the Iva Jovic game, but the exciting part of her future is that there are also clear areas to improve.
The serve will naturally develop as she continues to grow, while Jovic will be looking to show she can compete consistently with top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts. Iva Jovic does have a 2-3 record in those matches after beating Alexandra Eala in the Third Round, but those matches have been challenging for the youngster and there is also a question about whether she will have the time to recover from an exhausting win in the last Round.
Experience is something that Coco Gauff is not lacking and the World Number 4 cannot really ask to come into this Fourth Round match in much better form.
Not only has she won nine matches in a row, which includes winning the Cincinnati Masters, but Coco Gauff has won eighteen sets in succession. The three wins produced at the US Open have been comfortable enough, but Coco Gauff is also yet to have peaked and that makes her dangerous at a Grand Slam where she has had so much success previously.
Coco Gauff is a former Champion in New York City, although back to back Fourth Round defeats is something of a concern.
Playing to open up the Night Session on Arthur Ashe should suit Coco Gauff and there is a feeling she should be the fresher of the two players.
They have faced one another in Rome on the clay courts and Iva Jovic did give Coco Gauff as good as she got before fading in the final set decider.
As long as Coco Gauff is not overthinking her record at the US Open over the last two years, the higher Ranked of these two young compatriots can edge over Iva Jovic and do just enough to cover this handicap mark laid out.
MY PICKS: Alexander Zverev - 6.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Mirra Andreeva - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (2 Units)
Coco Gauff - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Iga Swiatek - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Naomi Osaka-Elena Rybakina Over 22.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)
US Open Update: 25-14, + 12.60 Units (78 Units Staked, + 16.15% Yield)
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