U.S. Open Sunday picks, including Gasquet vs. Monfils and Simon vs. Ferrer

U.S. Open third round

Marcel Granollers vs. (2) Roger Federer: Federer will be part of the day session, so Darth Federer may be out and the Michael Jordan shoes may be in. We’ll see. In fact, Federer’s choice of attire may be more interesting than the match itself, because this will be one-way traffic from start to finish. Federer in 3.

(7) Grigor Dimitrov vs. David Goffin: This is Dimitrov’s debut as the headliner of an Arthur Ashe night session. It may end up being Goffin’s coming-out party. The diminutive Belgian has been absolutely on fire this summer, having won 27 of 28 matches since Wimbledon. Granted, most of those have come on the Challenger circuit; Dimitrov is obviously a much different beast. Still, get your popcorn ready. This is gonna be good. Dimitrov in 5.

(26) Gilles Simon vs. (4) David Ferrer: Some tennis fans would rather gouge their eyes out than watch this matchup unfold on a tennis court. Others relish this type of stuff. It’s going to an absolute war of attrition with 20-ball rallies the norm and perhaps 40-ball exchanges on more than a few occasions. That’s a kind of match Simon can win. Simon in 5.

(6) Tomas Berdych vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili: Normally competition is supposed to get tougher as Grand Slams progress. It has been going in the opposite direction for Berdych: first Lleyton Hewitt, then Martin Klizan, and now Gabashvili. Berdych needs that, too, because he almost lost to Klizan. Berdych in 4.

(20) Gael Monfils vs. (12) Richard Gasquet: The Grandstand was filled to capacity 30 minutes before Monfils’ last match against Alejandro Gonzalez and the crowd was already doing the wave. Monfils gets bumped up to Louis Armstrong for a bigger match against Gasquet, and you can be sure the atmosphere will be similarly electric. Expect French fireworks. Monfils in 4.

(14) Marin Cilic vs. (18) Kevin Anderson: These two are about a similar as it can get in terms of playing style: good but not unreturnable serves, impressive movement for big men, strong two-handed backhands, and powerful but unreliable forehands. The difference is that Cilic has been putting all those ingredients together throughout this season. Anderson has not–at least not on a consistent basis. Cilic in 4.

(19) Feliciano Lopez vs. Dominic Thiem: For most of Friday afternoon it looked like Lopez would be facing Ernests Gulbis in the third round. Instead, the Spaniard will be facing Gulbis’ best friend on tour. It may be a better matchup for Lopez than Gulbis would have been. Lopez in 4.

Adrian Mannarino vs. (17) Roberto Bautista Agut: This is basically the forgotten match on Sunday, and it is the only one of the eight that is not on one of the three show courts. Mannrino thrashed Fabio Fognini in the second round, but Fognini is…well…Fognini. Bautista Agut in 3.

30 Comments on U.S. Open Sunday picks, including Gasquet vs. Monfils and Simon vs. Ferrer

  1. Cilic in 4 for the battle between the two stick insects.

    Thiem might just pull this one off in 5 sets

    Haven’t watched either of these two play this week but I’m plumping for Monfils in 5

    Berdych in 4

    Torn between choosing Gillou or Ferru (two of my favourites)
    Ferrer in 5

    Berdych in 3

    Federer in 3

  2. Pity about the matches being stopped due to the weather conditions. Granollers got off to a flying start and was poised to take the first set. Will be hard for him to come out and serve for the set now having lost the momentum.

  3. I thought something was up with Ferrer in that match. He seemed to run out of gas and you rarely see that happen to him. But I am really happy for Simon. Nice to see him having a good result here. He did struggle a bit with his serve, but I am still glad to see him get this win. The ESPN commies didn’t seem to know anything about an injury with Ferrer. They said near the end of the match, he was checking his pulse which is kind of alarming.

    The rain delay is the worst of all possible things for Granollers. I don’t know if they will be able to resume play today or not, but this is a bummer for him.

  4. David did, indeed, check his pulse. It was rather alarming to watch him do it. He had, just prior to that, been leaning against the back wall and was also doubled over. When he went to the baseline for his serve position during the last point, he held his fingers to his neck and checked his pulse. He was sweating more than I’ve ever seen him do. One of the tweeters who does Spanish translations said that he was going for a thorough checkup right after his press conference to make sure nothing was wrong. Hopefully, it was “just” a case of severe dehydration and nothing else.

    This rain delay is such a bummer. Whatever momentum Marcel had will be gone. I don’t give him much of a chance, but he can be tricky because of his extensive doubles experience. He’s a good net player and he’s got a decent enough serve. Hopefully, when the crowd really gets loudly behind Roger , because they will of course, he will be able to not let it rattle him too much.

  5. Congrats to Caro in her well earned win over cheater Shriekapova.

    Hope her ears can recover in time for her next match.

    If Genie in a Bottle can’t win, I’d love to see Woz finally get one.

    #SweetCarolineBaBaBa
    #EmptySeats
    #NoleFam

    • ^^Good shout-out to The Woz for ther win yesterday, first women’s match I’ve enjoyed in a while! Woz played with heart, intelligence and most of all, fight. My goodness, did she run! She is well prepared for the NY marathon make no mistake. She is leaner, sinewy and she was clearly DETERMINED.

      Maria’s screams became louder and louder as the match went on, echoing her desperation. She is embarrassing. And what the heck was she wearing, an apron?

  6. I also have to agree about Sharapova. I can’t see how her shrieking isn’t a hindrance to her opponents. It is true that her screams get louder when she is losing and also longer. I was ready to scream myself just sitting there having to listen to it. I just don’t understand why the WTA doesn’t address this issue.

    It was nice to see Caro get the win.

  7. My brother was visiting me a few days ago and I was in my den watching a Sharapova match. He’s a sports nut, but doesn’t follow women’s tennis. As he walked down the hallway and approached the room, he heard the noises (he didn’t know I was watching tennis). He said “What the hell is that?” LOL!

  8. Don’t have an opinion on the Grunters, but I did see the Simon-Ferrer match in person on Sunday and Giles played as great as I have EVER seen him…calm, cool, and very focuse…he actually out-fought and out-hit Ferrer…wow!

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