Joe Craven and Manuel Traquete of Men’s Tennis Forums along with Last Word on Sports Steen Kirby are on hand to preview and predict the best matches on the final day of men’s third round action at the US Open, this Saturday, including matches featuring Roger Federer and American #1 John Isner.
US Open Men’s Day 6 Panelist Predictions Including Gasquet-Tomic
Richard Gasquet vs. Bernard Tomic
Joe:
After a poor showing in the Citi Open in Washington and having to miss Montreal due to illness, Richard Gasquet found some form in North America as he reached the QF of the Cincinnati Masters where he lost to Andy Murray in three sets. Gasquet has been decent so far at this US Open, although he did get lucky in the 1st round against Thanasi Kokkinakis who had to retire in the 5th set due to cramps, he was solid against a battling Robin Haase in the 2nd round. Tomic’s form leading up to the US Open has been so-so but he’s played some solid Tennis on the run up the the 3rd round, beating Damir Dzumhur in the 1st round, before edging past compatriot Lleyton Hewitt in 5 sets in the 2nd round. Gasquet leads the Head to Head between the two 5-1 and despite Tomic playing rather well in this tournament, I don’t think he has much left in the tank after what beating Hewitt will have taken out from him both mentally and physically.
Prediction: Gasquet in 3 sets
Manuel:
Tomic pulled a houdini act to avoid elimination against Hewitt in R2, while Gasquet got a lucky break of his own when Kokkinakis had to retire due to cramps in the first round while up 2-1 in sets. The history of this matchup and Gasquet’s far superior consistency suggest that it will be the Frenchman advancing to yet another Slam fourth round.
Prediction: Gasquet in 4 sets
Steen:
Gasquet dominates the h2h record and has an overall better record in slams as well. Matchup wise his backhand and baseline consistency tends to be able to handle Tomic’s herky jerky junkballing and you have to wonder what type of condition Tomic will be in after a grueling and physical five set battle with the gutsy Lleyton Hewitt. Tomic deserves credit for his third round run, and Gasquet, who dropped sets to both Thanasi Kokkinakis and Robin Haase could be vulnerable but the Frenchman is a deserved favorite.
Prediction: Gasquet in 4 sets
Roger Federer vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
Joe:
Federer is on a great run of form heading into this match. He won the Cincinnati title in convincing fashion, straight setting both Murray (in the SF) and Djokovic (in the Final) on his way to the title. He’s cruised so far in New York, beating both Leonardo Mayer and Steve Darcis in convincing fashion. The conditions of Ashe, which have completely changed since the roof structure was built, seem to be helping Roger a lot. Kohlschreiber has been playing some decent tennis over the past couple of months but his form in the North American swing has been nothing to write home about, with him playing only one event with that being the Cincinnati Masters, where he lost in R1 to Joao Sousa. Kohli struggled in his first round match against compatriot Alex Zverev, requiring 5 sets to beat the teen, before straight setting Lukas Rosol in R2. Federer leads the Head to Head between the two 9-0 and is the overwhelming favourite for this match. I expect Federer to win this match rather easily, continuing his great form and making Kohli his turkey (have +10 win differential in the H2H) in the process.
Prediction: Federer in 3 sets
Manuel:
The German has never beaten Federer in 10 meetings and there’s a reason for that: his game matches up poorly against Federer and his belief might be even less than against other top players. With Federer looking in ominous form, expect him to win this match in relatively routine fashion.
Prediction: Federer in 3 sets
Steen:
Federer has been in vintage form through 2 matches and Kohlschreiber has never beaten him. The battle of one handers is almost certain to go to Federer unless lighting strikes, and he should continue his trend of not dropping a set and taking care of business quickly. The Swiss Maestro is likely to be the most impressive player in week 1.
Prediction: Federer in 3 sets
Kevin Anderson vs. Dominic Thiem
Joe:
When players win an event the week directly before a slam, rarely do they go beyond the opening rounds. However, Kevin Anderson has maintained the form which saw him lift the Winston-Salem title to find himself in the 3rd round. Big Kev faced a tough opening round battle from talented youngster Andrey Rublev but prevailed in four sets, before beating American Austin Krajicek in straight sets. Thiem has been untested so far in his US Open campaign making the 3rd round after a straight sets win against Daniel Gimeno-Traver and a win via retirement against Denis Istomin. Anderson leads the Head to Head 2-0, with both of his wins coming in straight sets on a hard court. Although I think this match could go either way, I am going to give it to Anderson on the basis that he’s been in better form overall than Thiem during the North American hard court season.
Prediction: Anderson in 4 sets
Manuel:
Thiem’s return position several meters behind the baseline will allow Anderson to exploit the angles with his serve; Thiem will have a hard time making any inroads on the Anderson serve and his own serve can be quite vulnerable.
Prediction: Anderson in 4 sets
Steen:
Credit to Thiem for finding some form at the US Open and making a run to the third round, once more demonstrating his tenacity and talent, but I’m relatively sure the road will end here for him at the hands of the big serving and efficient Anderson who has the mojo of a long winning streak in his favor along with the conditions on court. His energy levels seem fine as he scored two quality wins, and he should reach another slam second week perhaps with three tiebreak wins.
Prediction: Anderson in 4 sets
John Isner vs. Jiri Vesely
Joe:
Isner has had a great month on the North American swing, reaching the Finals of the Citi Open and the Quarter Finals of the Masters in Cincinnati. The big serving American is finding his best form on home soil and has cruised to wins over Malek Jaziri and Mikhail Youzhny in the first two rounds of the US Open. Vesely’s form heading into the US Open was nothing special, but the Czech has found himself in the 3rd round after a straight sets win over Paolo Lorenzi in the 1st round and a fantastic 5 sets win over big serving Ivo Karlovic in the 2nd round. The two have never met on the tour before so it may take both a while to figure out each others games. However I think Isner will get through this relatively easily in front of his home crowd.
Prediction: Isner in 3 sets
Manuel:
Isner cruised into the third round, not even being taken to one tiebreak – a remarkable achievement for Isner regardless of who the opponents are. Vesely on the other hand robbed us of the possibility of a 5 tiebreak match here by taking out Karlovic in 5 sets in the third round. Doing the same against Isner will be considerably harder though, the American is just far more clutch – especially in tiebreaks – than Karlovic.
Prediction: Isner in 3 sets
Steen:
Isner’s fantastic form this summer has continued and he has to be happy about avoiding the dangerous Ivo Karlovic at this stage, with Federer looming in the next round. Vesely is a talented player but he lacks the consistency, and though he got used to playing and reading big servers well with his victory over Karlovic, the American #1 Isner should continue his run on home soil and give American fans something to celebrate.
Prediction: Isner in 3 sets
Viktor Troicki vs. Donald Young
Joe:
Donald Young’s form has been on and off all year, but once again he seems to be finding his feet in his home country. Young was able to upset Tomas Berdych in the Montreal Masters a couple of weeks ago and it was an upset win that got his campaign up and running at the US Open, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Gilles Simon in 5 sets. Young also had to mount a comeback against Brit Aljaz Bedene in the 2nd round, dropping the 1st set before winning the match in 4. American fans will be sick of the sight of Troicki by the time he steps out on Grandstand court to face Donald Young, the Serb has beaten two American’s in Frances Tiafoe and Rajeev Ram en route ti the 3rd round. Troicki leads the Head to Head 1-0 but the meeting was on clay during Young’s famous 17 match winning streak, so I wouldn’t read too much into that. Although Young may be a little bit tired heading into this match I think he’s got great conditioning and the home crowd will lift him to victory.
Prediction: Young in 4 sets
Manuel:
Troicki was having a terrible post-Wimbledon campaign but he seems to have found some form for the US Open, albeit with the help of a frankly lucky draw. Young scored one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when he took out Simon in the first round from 0-2 down and he might just have enough to continue his unlikely run here.
Prediction: Young in 5 sets
Steen:
Young would have been an afterthought at the US Open if he had fallen in straights to Gilles Simon in the first round, but he showed a shocking amount of mental toughness and fight to win that one in five and then follow that up with a good round 2 win over Aljaz Bedene. Troicki was in horrible form this summer but has cruised through two matches, and I feel he’s a better player who has had a better season, with his form concerns fading I favor Troicki in this one.
Prediction: Troicki in 4 sets
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