A mouth-watering fourth-round matchup between Dominic Thiem and Felix Auger-Aliassime will take place on Monday. The winner will face either Alex de Minaur or Vasek Pospisil in the quarterfinals.
(15) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (2) Dominic Thiem
The men’s singles title at the 2020 U.S. Open is suddenly completely up for grabs, and whoever wins this showdown between Thiem and Auger-Aliassime on Monday afternoon will be one of the top favorites. It has been an up-and-down stay in the bubble for Thiem, who lost his Cincinnati Masters opening match to Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-1 but has advanced at the U.S. Open with mostly routine victories over Jaume Munar, Sumit Nagal, and Marin Cilic.
This marks the first-ever meeting between Thiem and Auger-Aliassime, with the latter earning his place by erasing Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 on Saturday. However, the 21st-ranked Canadian almost didn’t make it out of the first round–outlasting Thiago Monteiro in a fourth-set tiebreaker after saving set points earlier in the fourth. His run also includes a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 beatdown of Andy Murray. This is Auger-Aliassime’s first appearance in the second week of a major, whereas Thiem is a three-time Grand Slam finalist. The Austrian has become accustomed to this relatively fast surface with three matches under his belt and will use that to his advantage against a less experienced opponent.
Pick: Thiem in 4
Vasek Pospisil vs. (21) Alex de Minaur
de Minaur and Pospisil will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the quarterfinals on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-0 in favor of de Minaur, who prevailed 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 at the 2018 Washington, D.C. tournament and 6-4, 7-6(4) a few months later in Shanghai.
The 21-year-old Australian, who also reached this stage of the 2019 U.S. Open, has advance by taking out Andrej Martin, Richard Gasquet, and Karen Khachanov–the latter in five sets. Pospisil is also coming off a five-setter, having upset Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday. The 94th-ranked Canadian preceded that result with wins at the expense of Philipp Kohlschreiber and Cincinnati runner-up Milos Raonic. Pospisil may be playing some of the best tennis of his career right now, but as past results suggest it has been tough for him to penetrate de Minaur’s defense. Moreover, the world No. 28 will have a better chance of recovering physically from a recent five-setter.
Pick: de Minaur in 5
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Two great matches for all of us watching on tv….though might be hard to top yesterday’s default drama, and Shapo’s excellent play vs Goffin. I’ll take Thiem in 3, Pospisil in 4.
Thiem in 5, Little Demon in 4.
Has pospisil packed on the muscle? He looks like a berdych now
I have Thiem in 4 and Pospisil in 4