By Tony Fairbairn
- Taylor Fritz [12] v Matteo Berrettini
- Paula Badosa [26] v Taylor Townsend
- Casper Ruud [8] v Gael Monfils
NEW YORK, USA – Taylor Fritz’s hopes of making a deep run on home soil will be given a stern test as he takes on former Grand Slam finalist Matteo Berrettini on day three of the US Open.
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Taylor Fritz [12] v Matteo Berrettini H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Taylor Fritz [12] v Matteo Berrettini | H2H: Fritz leads 3-0 |
| US Open 2024 | New York, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $140,000 |
| Fifth on Louis Armstrong Stadium (01:30 BST) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
It’s been another impressive season for Taylor Fritz this year with the American number one producing big results, consistent deep runs into latter stages of tournaments as well as good Grand Slam results. However Fritz will want to be known for being a bit more than just being consistent as he will feel that his gradual development and progress should be rewarded with a Grand Slam semi-final at minimum. After narrowly missing out on that opportunity at Wimbledon, Fritz will be hoping that he can elevate his game on home soil and be a threat at the US Open after what has been a very poor build-up to the last Grand Slam of the year.
It doesn’t get any easier for Fritz though as former Grand Slam finalist Matteo Berrettini awaits in the opening round. It was this time last year that Berrettini suffered a bad injury which put him out of action for a number of months. Now 12 months later, the Italian returns to the US Open having built up some momentum over the course of the season and was visibly emotional after his first round win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The hammering forehand is back, the confidence is returning and now Berrettini will hope that all of these factors can result in another deep run at a Grand Slam.
Fritz will use the backhand to force Berrettini into uncomfortable positions on the court as he will force the Italian into slicing the ball therefore creating shorter balls for Fritz to hit easy winners into the open space. Meanwhile Berrettini will look to serve big, neutralizing Fritz’s return which will result in Berrettini being able to use his forehand effectively. This will be a good match but Fritz’s consistency, depth and better conditioning will allow the American to secure a fourth consecutive win over Berrettini.
Prediction: Fritz in four sets.
Paula Badosa [26] v Taylor Townsend H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Paula Badosa [26] v Taylor Townsend | H2H: Badosa leads 1-0 |
| US Open 2024 | New York, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $140,000 |
| First on Louis Armstrong Stadium (16:00 BST) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
After struggling to remain consistently fit over the last year, Paula Badosa has now recovered and is hitting form at the perfect time. After a run to the second week at Wimbledon, the Spaniard won the WTA 500 title in Washington and backed that up with a semi-final result in Cincinnati. Now Badosa is back in the seeding positions after struggling to get her ranking back up and will look to maintain her sensational form with a deep run at the US Open.
Next for Badosa is American Taylor Townsend who’s doubles form has taken the spotlight over her singles form. Townsend captured her first Grand Slam title in doubles at Wimbledon alongside Katerina Siniakova as she continues to make strides at being one of the best doubles players in the world. However Townsend is an incredibly nifty singles player as well having already beaten Jelena Ostapenko and Daria Kasatkina this summer. The American will aim to cause one more big upset as she aims to equal her result from last year by reaching the third round.
Badosa will play sharp tennis from the baseline aiming to use depth to pin Townsend behind the baseline and setting up most of the play on her forehand side. Meanwhile Townsend will look to be aggressive on return and use her doubles quality to finish points off at the net. This will be a close contest between two in-form players with Townsend more than capable of causing a big upset here.
Prediction: Townsend in three sets.
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Casper Ruud [8] v Gael Monfils H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Casper Ruud [8] v Gael Monfils | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| US Open 2024 | New York, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $140,000 |
| Fourth on Grandstand (Not before 22:00 BST) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
The last few months for Casper Ruud have been below his usual expectations with the Norwegian’s recent dip in form starting with his semi-final defeat to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros. That was followed by the Norwegian failing to reach a medal match at the Olympics with Ruud only winning one match from Montreal and Cincinnati. Now Ruud will hope he can improve his form at the US Open and produce his best tennis when he is most under the radar.
An incredibly tough second round awaits Ruud in the form of charismatic Frenchman Gael Monfils. Monfils is hard enough to play on American hard courts but even tougher when in form with the Frenchman recently beating Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati. A powerful and explosive game still has opponents in awe as Monfils still has one or two magic moments left in him and now the 37 year-old will continue to prove that age is just a number as he searches for another deep Grand Slam run.
Ruud will aim to block any serves to the body as he will use the forehand to dictate play and neutralize Monfils’ explosive baseline game. Meanwhile the Frenchman will look to set the tempo of the match with accurate serving as he aims to shorten the points with his powerful forehand. This will be an entertaining match with Monfils’ recent form making him slight favourite in what is set to be one of the best matches of the tournament so far.
Prediction: Monfils in four sets.
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