{"id":89761,"date":"2025-08-28T21:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=89761"},"modified":"2025-08-29T14:14:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T18:14:39","slug":"us-open-day-6-predictions-alcaraz-vs-darderi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/08\/28\/us-open-day-6-predictions-alcaraz-vs-darderi\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open Day 6 Predictions Including Carlos Alcaraz vs Luciano Darderi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/category\/us-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">US Open<\/a> day 6 has arrived, with one of the top favorites Carlos Alcaraz and American Frances Tiafoe on the match card. Our panelists offer their <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/category\/predictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">predictions<\/a> for every match on Friday.<\/p>\n<h3>Carlos Alcaraz vs Luciano Darderi<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Ilemona:<\/strong> Alcaraz has moved through the early rounds without much fuss, showing the sharp baseline game that brought him so much success last summer. Darderi\u2019s rise has mostly come on clay, and while he\u2019s adapted decently to hard courts this week, the difference in pedigree on this surface is clear. Still, Darderi has nothing to lose, which can make him dangerous in patches. Prediction: Alcaraz in 3<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damian:<\/strong> Darderi has already won three titles this year and with more practice, he can become a decent hard-court player in the future. For now taking advantage of his seeding is already a solid outcome and Alcaraz should just be two or three leagues ahead. The Spaniard is known for leaking sets, but so far hasn\u2019t come close to that at all this week. Prediction: Alcaraz in 3<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zain:<\/strong> Is Carlos Alcaraz playing his best hard-court tennis yet? Having won nine consecutive sets (ten if you count the Cincinnati final) and not been broken this tournament, the answer is quite likely. The serve is clicking, the forehand is aggressive, and his natural craftiness is taking over. Luciano Darderi has done well to live up to his seeding at this tournament, and his baseline stability might make stretches of this match tense. Still, expect the Spaniard to prevail quite comfortably in the end. Prediction: Alcaraz in 3<\/p>\n<h3>Taylor Fritz vs Jerome Kym<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2232427952\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.66667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2232427952?et=PToImotFTpVSrMlCjPfZ_A&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=TieCYaebCdzSCoQ4nFMcWzENxbRq4znwFt2-MR8x7Fg=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Ilemona:<\/strong> Fritz has been efficient when focused so far, keeping rallies short and serving well, much like he did during a strong summer swing. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/08\/27\/us-open-2025-swiss-qualifier-jerome-kym-stuns-brandon-nakashima-to-reach-third-round\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kym has surprised plenty<\/a> with his fight and big hitting, but this is his first time going this deep at a Slam. If he keeps his nerves steady, he could test Fritz more than expected. Prediction: Fritz in 5<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damian:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/07\/19\/is-jerome-kym-the-next-swiss-tennis-sensation\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kym is an unreal talent<\/a> and if he finally has a healthy season, he\u2019ll be deep inside the Top 100 soon enough. But Fritz has so much experience, hits with a lot more margin, and won\u2019t be as banged up by the previous wins as the Swiss might be. On paper this upset is possible, but a few factors too many are suggesting this will be the end of the road for Kym. Prediction: Fritz in 4<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zain:<\/strong> Jerome Kym has been one of the stories of this tournament so far. Ranked outside the world\u2019s top 150 and coming from the qualifiers, he has beaten two Americans back-to-back to reach this stage. He now faces another, arguably the best of them at the moment, and that may be a step too far. Taylor Fritz, last year\u2019s finalist, looked in great touch by the end of his second-round match and very well might be the one to end this fairytale run. Prediction: Fritz in 3<\/p>\n<h3>Frances Tiafoe vs Jan-Lennard Struff<\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2232448061\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 71.88552% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/2232448061?et=KSvOGMGtSc13H5WqpNvxZA&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=0TIvoI0XOZP5D-hJUtk9zGUWIlt_YOK9n4OEDWk9tYs=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" width=\"594\" height=\"427\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Ilemona:<\/strong> Tiafoe has looked sharp in New York, mixing variety with solid finishing at the net. Struff\u2019s powerful serve and forehand can take the racket out of anyone\u2019s hands, and he\u2019s found a decent groove here after a lean stretch. This could easily swing into a slugfest if Tiafoe lets Struff dictate. Prediction: Tiafoe in 5<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damian:<\/strong> Tiafoe is incredible in New York every season, vibing with the atmosphere and taking advantage of the crowd\u2019s energy. It\u2019s tough not to look ahead and treat this match as a foregone conclusion. Struff has a lot of quality even at this stage of his career, but you just cannot go against Tiafoe at Flushing Meadows, at least not this early in the event. Prediction: Tiafoe in 4<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zain:<\/strong> Frances Tiafoe and the US Open have been one of the great partnerships of the 2020s, with the American seemingly raising both his game and his confidence whenever he plays in New York. Jan-Lennard Struff did very well to edge out Holger Rune in the second round, and his big serve and attacking mindset can make any match tricky. However, Tiafoe is the fresher and more confident player. In a contest that could be decided by just a few moments, that edge might be enough to tip the scales. Prediction: Tiafoe in 4<\/p>\n<h3>Jiri Lehecka vs Raphael Collignon<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Ilemona:<\/strong> Lehecka has been building confidence after a solid hard court lead-up, using his athleticism to good effect. Collignon, more accustomed to grinding on slower courts, has battled well this week but hasn\u2019t faced an opponent with Lehecka\u2019s pace. If rallies open up, Lehecka\u2019s first-strike game should be the difference. Prediction: Lehecka in 3<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damian:<\/strong> That was a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/08\/28\/raphael-collignon-stuns-ruud-calls-us-open-win-best-day-of-my-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">stunning effort from Collignon<\/a> to defeat Ruud and while the Norwegian looked vulnerable, it\u2019s not like Lehecka hasn\u2019t had his share of disappointing Slam performances. He probably shouldn\u2019t lose this if he puts a decent number of returns in play, but it doesn\u2019t feel like a particularly easy matchup anymore. Prediction: Lehecka in 4<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zain:<\/strong> Jiri Lehecka is not always the most reliable Grand Slam player, and even here he has made matches trickier than they should have been. Raphael Collignon, having beaten top-12 seed Casper Ruud, is playing with house money. This could be closer than expected if the Belgian has enough left in the tank, as his big serve against Lehecka\u2019s return could do real damage. Still, the Czech should have enough firepower from the backcourt to see it through. Prediction: Lehecka in 4<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prediction:<\/strong> Lehecka in 4<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Open day 6 has arrived, with one of the top favorites Carlos Alcaraz and American Frances Tiafoe on the match card. Our panelists offer their predictions for every match on Friday. Carlos Alcaraz vs Luciano Darderi Ilemona: Alcaraz has moved through the early rounds without much fuss, showing the sharp baseline game that brought [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":87095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[42770,5729,15513,348,15512,4224,15612,42143,42577,13325,17201,17067,18587,18766,42877,347,15712,2373,2369,43,3616],"class_list":["post-89761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","tag-2025-us-open","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-carlos-alcaraz-predictions","tag-frances-tiafoe","tag-frances-tiafoe-predictions","tag-jan-lennard-struff","tag-jan-lennard-struff-predictions","tag-jerome-kym","tag-jerome-kym-predictions","tag-jiri-lehecka","tag-jiri-lehecka-predictions","tag-luciano-darderi","tag-luciano-darderi-predictions","tag-raphael-collignon","tag-raphael-collignon-predictions","tag-taylor-fritz","tag-taylor-fritz-predictions","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions","tag-us-open","tag-us-open-predictions"],"modified_by":"Steen Kirby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89761"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89828,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89761\/revisions\/89828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}