Fans in Flushing Meadows, and around the globe, should have plenty of entertaining tennis to enjoy on day three at the US Open with a number of star players set to take to the court. As ever, we will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Nick Kyrgios vs Benjamin Bonzi, Daniil Medvedev vs Arthur Rinderknech and Andy Murray vs Emilio Nava. But who will reach the third round?
US Open Day 3 Predictions
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Jordan Thompson
Yesh: What a match from Daniel Elahi Galan in the last round. He absolutely took it to Stefanos Tsitsipas, then didn’t falter after squandering match point after match point. Jordan Thompson, meanwhile, came back from two sets down to win his opening match. But Galan is in better form and has all the momentum.
Prediction: Galan in 4
Jakub: Galan pulled off a stunning upset over Tsitsipas after qualifying out of a weaker section. The Colombian is generally seen as a clay courter but proved he has game on hard as well. After an unimpressive summer of Challengers, Thompson ground out a win from two sets to love down over Lorenzo Sonego. I see Galan having the edge here, being fresher and with confidence at an all-time high.
Prediction: Galan in 4
Jack: Thompson beating Lorenzo Sonego over five sets wasn’t much of a surprise – this is just another Slam second-round to add to his rudimentary top-100 CV. Galan pulled off the upset of the tournament however in beating Stefanos Tsitsipas fairly comfortably. Even on his worst day, Tsitsipas losing the first two sets to the tune of one game won bares reflection on his opponent’s level. Keep in mind Galan also made it through qualifying without dropping a set. This is the Columbian’s to lose.
Prediction: Galan in 4
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J.J. Wolf vs Alejandro Tabilo
Yesh: J.J. Wolf pulled off a massive upset in the first round, and gets a far easier matchup in the second. The Ohio State Buckeye will be moving on.
Prediction: Wolf in 3
Jakub: Wolf pulled off a great upset over the always-solid Roberto Bautista Agut, taking out the Spanish veteran in straight sets. Tabilo, who beat Wolf earlier in the season on green clay, took out Kamil Majchrzak. Wolf looks in the best form of his season so far, so I expect him to advance.
Prediction: Wolf in 3
Jack: J.J. Wolf has got ‘story of the tournament’ written all over him. Before Galan downed Tsitsipas, his straight-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut was undoubtedly the upset of the tournament. He has got a seriously flashy game that will probably benefit from the confident swagger that one-sided win will have given him. Alejandro Tabilo won’t know what hit him.
Prediction: Wolf in 3
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Nuno Borges vs Wu Yibing
Yesh: Nuno Borges, a former NCAA finalist, out-battled current NCAA champion Ben Shelton in the opening round. He gets a winnable match in this round, and the match against Shelton will have prepared him well.
Prediction: Borges in 4
Jakub: A very attractive meeting between two qualifiers. Borges ground out a great win over Ben Shelton in one of the best matches of Day 1 while Yibing Wu arrived on the biggest stage in with a straight-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, now 34-4 on the season. This match could go either way but I will lean towards Wu.
Prediction: Wu in 5
Jack: This match will be close. The former junior world #1 Wu is a tricky customer and, though his win over Basilashvili wasn’t particularly surprising, he’s playing tennis worthy of the top-100 for certain. Nuno Borges is perhaps a little more up and down than his opponent but has higher peaks. The conditions reward consistently aggressive play so I’ll give Borges the slight edge.
Prediction: Borges in 4
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Casper Ruud vs Tim van Rijthoven
Yesh: Casper Ruud has looked elite at times this year, though he does prefer clay. Tim van Rijthoven, meanwhile, pulled off an incredible comeback to get this far. The grass court specialist is probably out of his depth on this one, though.
Prediction: Ruud in 3
Jakub: Ruud began his US Open campaign with a straightforward over the returning Kyle Edmund while Van Rijthoven had a much more hectic afternoon, saving seven match points against Zhizhen Zhang in his opener. Van Rijthoven has the game to challenge the Norwegian but might not have the fitness to go all the way after almost four hours on court on Monday.
Prediction: Ruud in 5
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