The U.S. Open will begin third-round action on Wednesday, when a wide-open bottom half of the men’s draw once again takes center stage. Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Joey Hanf of Cliff Drysdale Tennis preview and predict four of the most intriguing matchups.
(8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (Q) Denis Shapovalov
Ricky: Shapovalov’s rise–mainly thanks to a memorable semifinal run in Montreal–came after the U.S. Open entry deadline and he didn’t get a wild card. No matter. The 18-year-old Canadian won three qualifying matches and maintained momentum by hammering Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Monday. Tsonga had no trouble taking care of Marius Copil, but that marked the Frenchman’s first victory since Wimbledon. A major edge in current form goes to Shapovalov, who is playing the best tennis of his life. Shapovalov in 4:.
Joey: Fantastic shotmaking will be on display Wednesday night on Ashe. Shapovalov is clearly no longer a stranger to the masses, and his effort qualifying and easily winning his first round over Medvedev has nearly impressed me more than his epic run in Montreal. Tsonga should have had a decent summer, but he totally blew a match against Sam Querrey in Montreal and looked oddly tight in the process. I see this one going four, but Tsonga will be able to expose the Canadian’s return of serve–which is possibly his only weakness. Shapovalov will win more fans but lose the match. Tsonga in 4: 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3.
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Borna Coric vs. (4) Alexander Zverev
Ricky: This is a great matchup in that it pits two the future stars on tour against each other. But only one is a true star of the present. That, of course, is Zverev. The 20-year-old German has captured two Masters 1000 titles this season (Rome and Montreal), playing his way into a top-four seed at a major. Zverev had some early-tournament jitters as a slam favorite for the first time in his career when he beat Darian King on Monday night (Tuesday morning), but he should raise his level considerably in match two. Zverev in 3: 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Joey: I think this is a serious trouble match for Zverev. That late finish in round one is not going to be easy to recover from, because not only was it late, but it was also a long, hard grind with King. Coric clearly has less tools to work with, but he will make Zverev work hard for this one. Both guys definitely favor their backhand, and it will likely come down to who is willing to step around and attack on the forehand side. Zverev’s forehand is better technically, so I think he will get through this. But it’s not going to be easy…nor pretty. Zverev in 4: 7-6(3), 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5).
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(16) Lucas Pouille vs. Jared Donaldson
Ricky: Pouille has been losing left and right to Americans this season, and he has been losing to just about everyone of late. The Frenchman’s victory over Ruben Bemelmans on Monday was his first since the opening round of Wimbledon, a stretch that saw him fall to Donaldson 7-6(5), 7-6(8) in Montreal. The 20-year-old American, on the other hand, is playing far the best tennis of his young career. Donaldson struggled physically at the end of his round-one win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, but he should prevail as long as he is 100 percent. Donaldson in 4: 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Joey: Donaldson has needed almost two years to get used to tour level, but he’s all but there now. Weapons are obviously not the problem and his rally ball is above average. Pouille has had a disappointing year by all measures; he had a big opportunity to step up into the top 10. While Donaldson won the match Montreal, I felt Pouille really let that slip and was in control of points. Donaldson will need to have a good start to win this best-of-five encounter. If not, Pouille will make him hit too many balls. Pouille in 4: 7-6(4), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
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(23) Mischa Zverev vs. Benoit Paire
Ricky: Paire was almost as bad as his fellow Frenchman Pouille in between Wimbledon (where he reached the fourth round) and the U.S. Open. That stretch included a horrific 6-2, 6-1 loss to Mitchell Krueger in Cincinnati. Paire managed to beat lucky loser Lukas Lacko on Monday, but he will need to do a lot more than just beat Lukas Lacko in order to restore any confidence. Zverev has cooled off since a hot start to the year, but his serve-and-volley tactics will likely frustrate Paire to no end. Zverev in 4: 7-5, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
Joey: You know those matches that are destined to be five-setters but end up being flops? For me this falls in that category. Paire and the word “reliable” obviously do not go together, but the Frenchman has been playing some good tennis this year. And after a big start to 2017, Zverev’s singles has not been great. If you have not seen the elder Zverev play in person, you might not realize just how awkward his forehand is. Combine that with the disaster that is Paire’s forehand and there will be some hilarious errors in this match. I just don’t see Zverev winning enough free points to get through service games. Paire in 3: 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
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who ya got?
I like Shapovalov in 5. He seems to have no fear. Coric will fight to the end, but Zverev is the better player. Was a little surprised on Zverev’s first match, he looked desperate to win, like his whole world would fall apart if he didn’t win that match. If he comes out shaky and desperate like that, Coric may have a chance.
Always going for the American and I hope Donaldson wins. The other match will probably be entertaining. Paire might be a better match up for Isner, assuming Isner beats Chung, which I think he will.
Zverev in 3. I think after those early slam jitters as a favourite he will get by coric white easily. Coric will fight for every point as he does but in th3 end his tools are not at a high enough level and he makes errors at the wrong times.
Shapo in 5. Hes on fire right now and brimming with confidence and tsonga doesn’t seem quite there.shapo is the future of Canadian tennis nevermind milos.
Donnie in 4. Pouille is low on confidence and donaldson is smashing the ball right now. That being said if donaldson hits those errors early pouille can pull it off.
Mischa vs paire? Who cares they’re both hopeless loo
You aren’t hopeless when you’ve made millions of dollars off of playing tennis.
Zverev bros in four Shapovalov in five Donaldson in four
Coric quite an intelligent player, he knows he can’t overpower AZverev, so he uses some varieties, changing the pace to trick AZverev. Coric plays like a junior version of Djoko.
He said himself he plays like Djokovic. He’s kind of right about that. I knew this was a rough draw for Zverev. This US Open has been even crazier than I expected. Chances are Zverev will lose this in four. I guess I was at least right about Zverev not doing well at the Open. Coric is bossing Alex around.
Coric is a smarter player than AZverev. Zverev relies more on brute power, Coric uses his guile more!
I prefer players like Rafa, Djoko, Murray and now Coric; they think when they play!
Yeah I’ve always liked Coric. I like Zverev too but not as much as Coric.
Zvrev wtf too many errors.
Yes! Coric wins! So much for AZverev being one of the faves! Coric uses all his guiles, his varieties to win the match, well done! He makes AZverev looks one dimensional, Zverev just stays at the baseline and hits hard, not doing much to change the momentum when he’s not beating Coric.
yeah rip. I want shapovalov to win this half even though it sounds impossible haha.
Semis isn’t a crazy prediction. Finals maybe a little l. Quarters quite likely imo.
Nah, Cilic can beat him if they meet. Tsonga a bit off form lately.
I’m calling it now: Shapovalov is going to the final. He is getting seriously better by the match; at his age, improvement can be very fast.
Way to go, Borna! Bravo! Great movement on the court, fantastic tactics to engage Zverev into grueling rallies and force him into errors, the style of play Zverev dislikes! Borna exposed Zverev’s weaknesses so well especially on the net! So proud of Borna holding it together in key moments.
BTW, I for one said it was overreacting and premature to consider Zverev the favorite to win USO! I expected he could lose early as I did not trust his GS performance!
Same here. I thought he would flop early.
Big blow for A.Zverev! What is with him in majors? Quite baffling! Well done to Coric.
Kyrgios out too?!? What a crazy tourny so far haha. The opportunity for Fedal, and to a lesser extent Dimitrov, just gets better and better…
No not crazy; these young guns have yet to prove themselves at the slams. It’s people who are so eager to see them succeed who failed to see their shortcomings!
Muller lost to Lorenzi. Ferrer lost to Kukushkin. Kyrgios lost to Millman. Thomas Fabbiano and Paolo Lorenzi are playing for a spot in the second week of a slam. Shapovalov looks like a possible semifinalist. Zverev is out second round. Federer almost lost to Tiafoe. Nadal has a good draw. It’s crazy as shit.
Kyrgios has proved himself. Forst round loss to Millman is unacceptable for him… See Benny’s response below. From the beginning, this has been a crazy men’s major!
Kyrgios has proved himself at slams. Forst round loss to Millman is unacceptable for him… See Benny’s response below. From the beginning, this has been a crazy men’s major!
Loving this match from Denis. He’s about to close out Tsonga in straights. This kid is just so good.
Seems to me Cilic is back. Looked totally fit against Mayer I think he was just a bit nervous and rusty vs Sandgren in round one. He will probably make the finals. And who knows then. That would be crazy if he came into here after an injury layoff and won the whole thing. Schwartzman won’t be easy next round though.
I think Schwartzman will take Coric down next round. Coric is still a very inconsistent player.
Coric? Coric is scheduled to meet Anderson next.
Shapavalov will make the finals
I doubt so! He’s not going to beat Cilic or Querrey, my take. You got to beat him at the net, not from the baseline. He’s free swinging, so you have to make him come forward, rush him, and not give him time and space to swing freely.
I like the way Querrey played at Wimbledon, he’s certainly mixing things up nicely, so I think even if Cilic failed against Shapo, Querrey is capable of doing the job, esp if Shapo is extended to five sets during his matches.
I think I’m with you on this one, Lucky. I can’t deny that he is definitely a great player, but he seems to play with little margin for error a lot, and I would be surprised if he were able to sustain that. Especially if played someone who didn’t give him much rhythm.
Yeap, Shapo plays go for broke tennis; if his shots don’t land in, the UEs will rise. I have to say, he’s fortunate to meet a subpar Rafa, Delpo and Tsonga; against AZverev, he had no answer.
It’s not like AZverev is better than Rafa or Delpo when they’re playing their best tennis, I’m sure the next time Rafa or Delpo meet Shapo and playing their usual high level, Shapo is not going to beat them!
We’ll see how Shapo develops as a player, he certainly won’t be free swinging all the time; he has to hit with precision more often, can’t rely on big serving and big hitting all the time and expects all his shots to land inside the court.
In terms of precision, I like Fed, Rafa and Djoko’s precision tennis, they do not need to go for broke to win their matches!
Lucky,
I agree with you. I much prefer precision tennis rather than go for broke tennis.
I am not convinced by Shap yet. He does have to develop his game more. He’s not always going to be able to swing for the fences. He’s got a high risk game and I am not sure if he will be successful long term.
I didn’t realize Shapovalov would play Cilic in the quarters. That’s probably the farthest he will go. I cansee him upsetting an out of form or injured Cilic but Marin looked neither of those in his last match.
I see he has improved his net game too. This guy will go far. I don’t think Cilic is a lock to beat him
Oops, my bad. Read the match wrong. I’ll take Schwartzman over Anderson. Kevin needs a good 3 or 4 more inches to beat him.
Sorry again! The previous comment was in response to Lucky above, pointing out that I was wrong to think Cilic was playing Schwartzman.
However, I agree that Shapovalov has a great chance to make the finals. He has the game to take down Cilic.
If he’s good enough to reach final,could win the whole thing!
Whoa there hold your horses buddy!
Cilic is playing Schwartzman Joe. U just initially said he was playing Coric on accident I think
Joe, Cilic is playing Schwarzman next; in your post you mentioned Coric, and Coric will play Anderson next. You’re confused!
Well, anyone can win this years open. Fed and Nadal are both vulnerable.
Dimitrov has a good chance too.
Shap is not winning the USO! People are getting carried away.
I did nog understand why Sascha Zverev was considered a favorite here. He has done well to win two Masters titles. That’s an accomplishment. But he has not shown anything at the slams.
Zverev needs to work on his fitness and also his net game. It takes a special skill set to win slams. Zverev is just not there yet. But I do think he has the potential to win a slam.
It takes more to win a slam than just having Fed and Nadal being vulnerable! I doubt Shapo has the skill set to win 7 BO5 matches to win a slam at the moment.
A more steady AZverev couldn’t do the job, more so a go for broke Shapo!
PS. Tsonga looked old and clumsy compared to young Shapo, clearly lacking in match fitness and sharpness.
Shapovalov has No Slam experience ,I’ll be very surprised he makes the final.
Exactly! Seriously, he’s not that great! I watched his match vs Tsonga, beating Tsonga doesn’t mean he’s going to win the title here!
People are excited because he’s only 18 yo; but people were also crazy over Coric, then Krygios came along, nothing happened after he beat Rafa at Wimbledon, then AZverev came along, reached Hamburg SF at age 17 and by 20 this year he finally won two Masters, and yet nothing happened at the slams.
No lessons learnt so far, more mistakes and more disappointments I’m afraid.
It takes something special to win a slam esp when one is a teenager. In this era of the big four, it’s even tougher for a teenager to do so!
2 of the big 4 are absent. Other 2 are vulnerable. Perfect chance for someone to break through
Could well be someone like Isner
Someone? May be Querrey, or Cilic to win his second slam! Or even Dimi, why Shapo? He has shown nothing to tell me he’s going to win the title here!
Shapshot (BG’s name for him) has a Future but that’s in the Future. I don’t see him even getting past Anderson.
I think A Zverev was a victim of high expectations. He believed the hype and forgot Tennis’ Golden Rule. One Match at a Time. Ironic that his older and smaller bro is going farther than he did.
Snapshot! That’s cute! I think he’s a question mark right now. I have seen too many of these young guys come along throughout the years and not make it. Only time will tell. But he is not going to win the USO.
I do think that Zverev was a victim of high expectations. He did get caught up in the hype. That is what I feared might happen to him. Zverev has to figure out a way to get through the early rounds. I think the idea of one match at a time, is a good way to approach it.
Sorry, it was Shapshot!
Agree. And play less tournaments before a slam.
Shapo’s game is far superior than Querry & Isner. And he is only 18, so he will get better.