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Get the popcorn prepared on Friday as two #NextGenATP stars Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime problem Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roberto Bautista Agut, respectively, for a spot within the Final 16 on the US Open. Two Russians, Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 finalist, and Andrey Rublev, additionally look to advance on stadium courts.
In arguably the match of the day, Alcaraz, the youngest participant within the High 400 of the FedEx ATP Rankings who has despatched shockwaves across the tennis world this yr and now, faces third seed Tsitsipas for the primary time second on Arthur Ashe Stadium (not earlier than 1:30pm).
With an athletic and highly effective sport, Alcaraz has won 23 of his past 28 matches (at any level) and change into the primary male since Goran Ivanisevic in 1989 to achieve the second spherical in any respect 4 main championships on debut.
“He is a younger expertise that has been doing very nicely not too long ago,” stated Tsitsipas, forward of the conflict at Flushing Meadows. “He is been consistently bettering, getting up within the rankings. He is somebody that has sport for all surfaces. Me personally, I wish to play one of the best of my sport towards him. I see him as a possible contender sooner or later for Grand Slam titles and different huge occasions.”
The Spaniard has used the aftermath of his three matches this yr towards High 10 opponents — Alexander Zverev in Acapulco, Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros and Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon — positively, securing victories in 10 of his previous 13 matches, together with his first ATP Tour crown on the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag (d. Gasquet) and a Winston-Salem Open semi-final run (l. to Ymer). He’s now in sturdy competition to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November, at the moment in fourth position in the ATP Race To Milan.
The World No. 55 was spectacular in beating British twenty sixth seed Cameron Norrie and France’s Arthur Rinderknech, but when former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero’s cost is to change into the youngest participant to reached the US Open fourth spherical since Michael Chang (17) and Pete Sampras (18) in 1989, he might want to report the largest victory of his profession. In February, he beat then World No. 14 David Goffin on the Great Ocean Road Open.
World No. 3 Tsitsipas, who’s closing on a spot on the Nitto ATP Finals for a 3rd straight yr, has but to achieve the US Open fourth spherical, however comes into the match in nice type following victories over 2012 champion Andy Murray and Adrian Mannarino. The Greek superior to back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals on the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto (l. to Opelka) and on the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (l. to Zverev).
View Friday’s Schedule | Singles & Doubles Draw
Photograph: Andrew Ong/USTA
In one other thrilling third-round encounter, the extremely constant Spanish 18th seed Bautista Agut challenges twelfth seed Auger-Aliassime for the third time through the night time match at 7pm on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Throughout the 2019 Davis Cup closing, Auger-Aliassime switched his sample of play to Bautista Agut’s forehand and paid the value, however final yr the Canadian gained 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the Cologne 1 semi-finals.
Auger-Aliassime beat Zverev en path to his first main championship quarter-final at Wimbledon in July and will likely be making an attempt to safe a US Open fourth-round berth for the second straight yr. In his first two matches this week, Bautista Agut has been in nice type, shedding solely 13 video games in victories over Nick Kyrgios and Emil Ruusuvuori.
Earlier within the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium (not earlier than 1pm), second seed Medvedev will possible tread rigorously in a first-time ATP Head2Head assembly towards Pablo Andujar, who’s in search of the largest win of his profession. Whereas the Spaniard has recorded solely three hard-court wins this yr, he has recorded High 10 victories over Roger Federer (Geneva) and Dominic Thiem (Roland Garros). However Medvedev has gained 13 of his previous 15 matches through the US summer time swing, together with a fourth ATP Masters 1000 trophy on the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers (d. Opelka) and the 2 hundredth match win of his profession over Richard Gasquet within the US Open first spherical. The victor will play British twenty fourth seed Daniel Evans or Alexei Popyrin (second on Court docket 17).
Medvedev’s compatriot, fifth seed Rublev, who can also be hoping to play in Turin on the Nitto ATP Finals from 14-21 November, tackles American Frances Tiafoe, for the primary time at tour-level, final on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Quite a bit has modified since Rublev beat Tiafoe 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 within the 2014 US Open junior quarter-finals. Two-time quarter-finalist Rublev has won 27 of his 43 match wins on hard courts this year, whereas Tiafoe seeks his third High 10 win at a significant (Kevin Anderson at 2019 Australian Open and Tsitsipas at 2021 Wimbledon) in an effort to change into the primary dwelling favorite to achieve the US Open fourth spherical in consecutive years since Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick in 2011-12.
4 qualifiers — Peter Gojowczyk, Henri Laaksonen, Alex Molcan and Botic van de Zandschulp — additionally characteristic on day 5. Laaksonen has two ATP Challenger Tour wins over Gojowczyk, forward of their first tour-level assembly on Grandstand for the appropriate to play Tsitsipas or Alcaraz. Not earlier than 5pm on the identical court docket, Slovakian Molcan, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic within the Belgrade Open closing in Might, faces eleventh seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.
Van De Zandschulp’s First Trip To The United States Proving Memorable
Van de Zandschulp had never before visited the United States previous to final week, solely seeing New York Metropolis on exhibits similar to ‘Fits’ and ‘Particular person of Curiosity’. He meets Facundo Bagnis of Argentina third on Court docket 17.
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