It’s an all-Canadian battle between Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic for a spot in the third round. Former champion Marin Cilic is also in action. Our panel of Damian Kust and Yesh Ginsburg predicts this and other US Open matches on day 4.
Vasek Pospisil vs Milos Raonic
Yesh: This all-Canadian matchup should be a fun one, and anything can happen if Pospisil can force it to tiebreaks, but Raonic is the far easier call. Raonic in 4
Damian: Who’s the best Canadian player in the world right now? This question can actually have three or four different answers. The most plausible is probably Raonic though, who should be pretty high on confidence right now following the “Cincinnati” runner-up finish. Pospisil was playing great before the break and we’re yet to really see if he’s quite there. These matches between players that know each other so well can often be messy and go the distance, so it’s actually possible Raonic will struggle here. Raonic in 4
Matteo Berrettini vs Ugo Humbert
Yesh: After a slow first set, Matteo Berrettini put things together and dominated Go Soeda. Berrettini should be a dark horse to win this tournament right now, and a solid Ugo Humbert will show us just how close he is to that form. Berrettini in 3
Damian: Last year’s semifinalist Berrettini loves the conditions here and should be able to advance to the next round with ease. Humbert has nothing that could rival the Italian’s serve and forehand combination and it’s that deadly power Berrettini has that make him one of the top contenders here. Berrettini in 3
Marin Cilic vs Norbert Gombos
Yesh: Cilic pulled an absolute miracle out of his hat to escape the opening round, but if he has the rhythm then Gombos shouldn’t be able to stop him. Cilic in 4
Damian: After somehow fighting through Denis Kudla (the American served for the match), Cilic would really like to get some breathing time and get a more straightforward victory. And it appears he might find just that in his match against Norbert Gombos. The Slovakian is competent enough to keep it close but if Cilic is anyone near his best shape, he should win it quite comfortably. Cilic in 4
Frances Tiafoe vs John Millman
Yesh: Tiafoe took out a tough Andreas Seppi in the first round. The American looks in solid form, but he will be tested against Aussie John Millman. Millman pulled an upset in his opener, but Basilashvili has a lot of major issues currently. Expect a very tight match here, but I’ll give the slight nod to the American with the bigger game. Tiafoe in 5
Damian: Both have played some great matches in their careers at the US Open, with Millman at a slight lead in that because of the quarterfinal appearance. The Australian has a slight head-to-head lead, although both of his wins took place in hard-fought deciding sets. We should expect it to be close, but I like Millman’s counterpunching to pave his way to victory in the end. Millman in 5
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