Stefanos Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe are coming off huge wins, but it will only get tougher in Toronto on Thursday. Quarterfinal spots will be at stake when they go up against Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov, respectively.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (9) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic and Tsitsipas will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they collide in round three of the Rogers Cup on Thursday. It has already been a productive week for Tsitsipas, who opened with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Damir Dzumhur and then ousted Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-6(6) on Wednesday. Thus continues a breakout 2018 campaign for the 19-year-old Greek, who has earned 27 of his 31 ATP-level match wins this season and has soared to No. 27 in the world.
Although Djokovic’s year has not been as consistent, he took his comeback to new heights on grass with a runner-up showing at Queen’s Club and a fourth Wimbledon title. The 10th-ranked Serb got right back in gear on hard courts with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Peter Polansky on Wednesday afternoon. As good as Tsitsipas has been, he is 0-4 lifetime against top-five opponents and 0-8 in total sets. Djokovic is not officially a top-five player right now, but the 31-year-old is certainly performing like one. In fact, he is arguably the best player in the world once again and he is also a four-time champion of this tournament.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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Frances Tiafoe vs. (5) Grigor Dimitrov
While Tsitsipas took down the eighth-ranked player on tour during second-round action and Tiafoe got the best of an unseeded foe, the latter result was no less notable. Milos Raonic has been rounding into form, is a former Rogers Cup runner-up, and had reached the quarterfinals each of the last three times this event has been held in Toronto. But Tiafoe was too good, as he dominated the final set en route to a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1 upset. The 20-year-old American already registers at a career-high of 41st in the rankings and he is sure to crack the top 40 next Monday thanks to this result and also a consistent 2018 effort that has him at 24-14 for the season.
Up next for Tiafoe on Thursday is a first-ever showdown against Dimitrov, who survived a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) thriller against Fernando Verdasco in his opener on Tuesday night. It was a much-needed win for the fifth-ranked Bulgarian, who is a modest 20-13 this year and had been 3-6 in his last nine matches prior to arriving in Toronto. Dimitrov should take a ton of confidence from his defeat of Verdasco, he will have enjoyed a full day off, and his defense will force Tiafoe to hit a lot more balls than the youngster had to against Raonic.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
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who ya got?
Dimi in three Djoker in two
Djokovic in 2, Tiafoe in 3.
tsame as Cheryl.
Djoker in 3, Tiafoe in 3
I cannot believe that Tiafoe choked away that match. This is just what Dimi needed. Tiafoe was up a break in the third set, then was broken. He was up 4-2 in the TB and managed to lose. Not good.
In case anybody noticed, Novak just lost to Tsitsipas!
Ya, I was just out there. The crowd was DEFINITELY surprised. Honestly, I think Nole is a bit lucky it wasn’t in straight sets.
^That was my sense of the match.
Vamos Tsitsipas! He bests Djoko! 26 FH winners and incredible serving! Djoko only managed two BPs but couldn’t take any of them.
I thought Tsitsipas was gone after losing the second set TB but he came out stronger in the third set and got an early break to go up 3-0 and then held serve to win the third set 6-3. I must say Djoko was serving poorly the whole match, certainly not at the level he played during Wimbledon.
He’s really calm and cool esp when serving for the match. Well done Tsitsipas!
I happened to look at live scores and when I saw tsitsipas lose the tiebreak i th ought he would lose the match pretty damn quick. This guy tsitsipas seems to be the real deal and cute as well!!
Amy – that’s what my daughter said. 🙂 “Yup. he’s pretty!”
He remind me a little bit of a young Fed. He shores up the damage on that backhand, and he’s going to be a treat to everyone. I’m impressed.
I like the unintentional pun where threat became treat Cheryl! He is a treat for the eyes!!☺
US Open odds changing back as we speak 😂 #GreekGod
I would expect the odds to change now. This is a reality check for Djoker, who did not play great. The kid kept it together and did well not to lose focus after losing the second set.
Somewhat relieved to see he’s not unbeatable yet. Otoh, I’d just as soon see the Djoker’s ranking go up a bit more before the USO draw… And I’d have liked to see him and AZ go at it.
Tsitsipas seems to be the real thing. He showed a lot of poise in that third set. They just showed match stats on ESPN. Tsitsipas served amazingly well in this match.
1st serve % – 60%
1st serve points won – 84%
2nd serve points won – 68%
Novak had only two break points and did not convert them.