The third round starts on Friday, Day 5 at the 2024 US Open. Eight exciting matches means eight players will find themselves moving onto the second week. As always, we here at LWOT will share our thoughts on all eight matches. We split the eight matches between two articles, with our other article featuring Ben Shelton vs Frances Tiafoe. Predicting these matches are Manuel Traquete, Damian Kust, and Yesh Ginsburg. Who do you think will move on?
US Open Day 5 Men’s Predictions
Taylor Fritz vs Francisco Comesana
Manuel:
Fritz scored a great win over Berrettini and on paper he has a very kind draw here. Comesana has shown the ability to beat high ranked players in Slams though, overcoming Rublev at Wimbledon and Humbert here. That said, playing at home Fritz should have too much for Comesana here and make the second week.
Prediction: Fritz in 4
Damian:
Comesana has no main tour wins outside of the Slams, but has now made it into the third round at both Wimbledon and the US Open. The way he was extending the points against Humbert with all the defensive slices was extremely impressive. Surely the gameplan will be similar against Fritz, but the quality gap might hit the Argentine pretty hard here.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Yesh:
I freely admitted I underestimated Comesana last round, mostly because he’s never before shown the form that he’s shown here. So maybe it won’t last, but I can’t imagine he keeps it up against Fritz.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Grigor Dimitrov vs Tallon Griekspoor
Manuel:
Griekspoor is often a very tough nut to crack for Top 10 players but is also known for struggling to close out matches, as seen against Zverev at Roland Garros for instance. He might trouble Dimitrov, but the Bulgarian should have the edge in the end.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 5
Damian:
Dimitrov hasn’t had to work all that hard so far and Griekspoor will be a bigger challenge. But despite the Bulgarian losing a bit early in the warm-ups, it still took pretty spectacular performances to take him out. The Dutchman has the firepower but isn’t as versatile and his form has been all over the place too, making Dimitrov the more likely winner.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 4
Yesh:
Dimitrov looks really good so far, though both matchups have favored him. Still, he is locked in, and I don’t think even the underratedly solid Griekspoor can stick with him.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Lorenzo Musetti vs Brandon Nakashima
Manuel:
Nakashima has been playing amazing tennis so far here in New York, while Musetti has had to save match points to even make it to this point and has generally not played at his best after the Olympics. On hard, Nakashima might very well win here and make the second week of a Slam for the second time in his career.
Prediction: Nakashima in 4
Damian:
Musetti is having a very good summer, but a hard court is still where it will be much easier to rush his groundstrokes and not let him play his game. Nakashima can do it especially if his serve is firing the way it’s been in New York so far. This projects to be pretty close, maybe the American can avenge his Queen’s Club loss from earlier this year.
Prediction: Nakashima in 5
Yesh:
Nakashima hasn’t found his full potential yet, but he loves these courts and competing in front of American fans. Musetti is incredible on clay and pretty solid on hard courts, though he hasn’t recently been as solid as he could be. I think Nakashima can find his way through.
Prediction: Nakashima in 4
Novak Djokovic vs Alexei Popyrin
Manuel:
Popyrin is living the best moment of his career; he won a Masters 1000 title in Montreal and has been playing great so far in New York, but Novak Djokovic in a Slam is of course a different type of challenge. It’s actually the third time this matchup will be happening in Slams this year, with Djokovic winning tough four-setters in Australia and Wimbledon. Popyrin is likely to put up a strong fight again, but most likely not enough to actually overcome Djokovic.
Prediction: Djokovic in 4
Damian:
We haven’t seen Djokovic pushed yet in New York this year and this is likely where it will happen, at least to some extent. Popyrin was able to threaten him both in Australia and at Wimbledon this year, even if the 24-time Grand Slam champion was not physically at his best in either match. The recent Montreal champion is very high on confidence now, he might be able to compete with the legend again.
Prediction: Djokovic in 4
Yesh:
This is the third Grand Slam meeting between this pair this year. In both of the earlier ones, Popyrin challenged Djokovic before eventually succumbing. The Serbian looks supremely relaxed and confident right now, so he’ll probably have no issue reading the Australian’s big serve.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
