Novak Djokovic will be bidding for a quarterfinal spot at the U.S. Open when he takes the court on Monday against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are also in action.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (22) Philipp Kohlschreiber
Djokovic and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they clash in round four of the U.S. Open on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in Djokovic’s favor, including 2-0 on hard courts. They most recently faced each other this spring on the clay courts of Rome, where Djokovic prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Kohlschreiber’s lone victory over the current world No. 1 came via a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 decision in the third round of the 2009 French Open.
Kohlschreiber booked his place in the last 16 with a third consecutive U.S. Open third-round victory over John Isner. The 25th-ranked German, who preceded that triumph by taking out Facundo Bagnis and Michael Llodra (second-set retirement), is 33-20 for his 2014 campaign. Djokovic has apparently regained form and focus in the aftermath of early exits in Toronto and Cincinnati. The top-seeded Serb may not be at his very best level, but he looks more like the Wimbledon Djokovic that the one that was on display at the two hard-court Masters events. As such, he should be able to fend off a stern challenge from Kohlschreiber.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
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(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (8) Andy Murray
It will be a rematch of a recent Toronto showdown when Murray and Tsonga meet again on Monday in Flushing Meadows. Tsonga recovered from a break deficit in the third set to beat Murray 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, but the Frenchman is still just 2-9 in the head-to-head series. Murray has won five of their previous seven hard-court encounters, including a 6-4, 6-1 rout earlier this season in Miami.
Tsonga eventually captured the title in Toronto, where he posted four top-10 wins in succession (also over Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, and Roger Federer). It has been an otherwise disappointing season for the world No. 10, but confidence from that triumph seems to have remained. So far this fortnight, Tsonga has rolled over Juan Monaco, Aleksandr Nedovyesov, and Pablo Carreno Busta. Murray has not been as impressive while getting past Robin Haase, Matthias Bachinger, and Andrey Kuznetsov. Struggling down at ninth in the world, the Scot is generally a bad matchup for Tsonga but may not be able to capitalize on it based on the way he has performed of late.
Pick: Tsonga in 4
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