U.S. Open R3 previews and predictions: Medvedev vs. Cobolli, Draper vs. Van de Zandschulp

Third-round action at the U.S. Open wraps up on Saturday, when Daniil Medvedev continues his campaign against Flavio Cobolli. Meanwhile, Jack Draper faces Botic van de Zandschulp instead of Carlos Alcaraz.

(31) Flavio Cobolli vs. (5) Daniil Medvedev

While the current “Big 3” are dominating headlines (and not all for the right reasons with Jannik Sinner plagued by a steroid scandal and Carlos Alcaraz losing in straight sets to Botic van de Zandschulp), Medvedev is flying under the radar at the U.S. Open–just as he has been pretty much all season long. Although this year has not been a great one for the Russian, he still registers at No. 5 in the world and now finds himself at perhaps his favorite tournament. Medvedev, who has cruised past Dusan Lajovic and Fabian Marozsan so far this week, was the champion in 2021 and finished runner-up in both 2019 (lost to Rafael Nadal) and 2023 (lost to Djokovic).

Up next for the 28-year-old on Saturday is a first-ever meeting with Cobolli, for whom 2024 has been outstanding. The 22-year-old Italian is up to a career-high ranking of No. 31 in the world and has earned 30 of 36 main-tour match wins this season. Recent results include a final in Washington, D.C. (lost to Sebastian Korda), a third round in Cincinnati (beat Tommy Paul, lost to Hubert Hurkacz), and U.S. Open defeats of James Duckworth and Zizou Bergs. From a quality standpoint, this could be one of the best matches of the tournament. The edge obviously goes to Medvedev–at this particular event and in a best-of-five situation, he should be able to wear down a talented opponent.

Pick: Medvedev in 4

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Botic van de Zandschulp vs. (25) Jack Draper

Draper was surely expecting to meet a four-time Grand Slam champion in Alcaraz on Saturday. Instead, it will be a player outside the top 70 in Van de Zandschulp. Such is the unpredictable nature of tennis (especially at the end of a grueling summer that also includes the Paris Olympics this year). How surprising was Thursday night’s result? Well, Van de Zandschulp was so bad this spring that he briefly considered retiring from the sport. The 28-year-old Dutchman dropped out of the top 100 in late May, but a couple of recent Challenger runner-ups may have restored some confidence. Suddenly, van de Zandschulp is playing like his old self–the one who reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2021. In fact, he may be playing even better. The world No. 74 erased Denis Shapovalov in straight sets on Tuesday and then stunned Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

Of course, it’s never easy to follow up such a monumental result with additional success and Van de Zandschulp has to go up against an in-form opponent. When healthy, Draper is a top-10 talent–and right now the world No. 25 is playing like it. He won the Stuttgart title, upset Alcaraz at Queen’s Club, reached the Cincinnati quarterfinals, and so far in New York has ousted both Zhizhen Zhang and Facundo Diaz Acosta in lightning-quick fashion. The British left-hander should be able to end Van de Zandschulp’s improbable run.

Pick: Draper in 4

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