Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will try to take additional steps toward a potential U.S. Open quarterfinal showdown when they take the court again on Thursday. Federer is facing Benoit Paire, while Djokovic collides with Tennys Sandgren.
Benoit Paire vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer and Paire will be going head-to-head for the seventh time in their careers when they clash in round two of the U.S. Open on Thursday afternoon. It is a clean 6-0 sweep for Federer, who had taken care of Paire in five consecutive straight-setters until things finally got interesting–very interesting–earlier this summer on the grass courts of Halle. The underdog Frenchman had two match points in a third-set tiebreaker before succumbing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7).
At that point in the season Federer was still somewhat rusty despite a title-winning run in Stuttgart, as he had skipped the entire clay-court swing. Now, of course, the 37-year-old Swiss has himself ready to go for the final major of 2018. He finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati and got a routine win under his belt on Tuesday night by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Paire punched his ticket to the last 64 by holding off Dennis Novak 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5), improving to an even 22-22 for his 2018 campaign. The world No. 56 is in decent form, but not to the extent that he will challenge Federer like he did in Halle.
Pick: Federer in 3 losing 11-14 games
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(6) Novak Djokovic vs. Tennys Sandgren
Djokovic’s comeback from an injury-plagued 2017 campaign was already a smashing success even prior to his first-ever Cincinnati titlte. The sixth-ranked Serb also triumphed, of course, at Wimbledon–where he raised the trophy for a fourth time. Djokovic showed brief signs of slowing down amidst searing heat in New York on Tuesday afternoon, but he managed to recover from a mid-match hiccup and defeat Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.
Up next for Djokovic on Thursday is a second career contest against Sandgren, whom he recently victimized 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 to touch off his run at the All-England Club. Sandgren was the talk of the 2018 Australian Open on and off the court, but he has cooled off on the heels of a hot first few months of the season and has faded from relevancy. The 61st-ranked American will have to do a lot more than beat a slumping Viktor Troicki in order to prove that he is back on top of his game. Even if he is, Djokovic will likely raise his own level from round one and make this one-way traffic.
Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 8-10 games
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