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Day 6 of the US Open 2024 will bring an end to the third round of singles matches. Eighth seed Capser Ruud avoided an upset as he overcame a two-set deficit to beat Shang Juncheng 6-7 (1), 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.
Brandon Nakashima continued his resurgence with an upset win over 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti to reach the fourth round. Frances Tiafoe survived a tough challenge from Ben Shelton to edge past him in five sets.
Grigor Dimitrov, Taylor Fritz, and Andrey Rublev all made it through with routine wins. Players from the top half of the draw will now aim to join them in the fourth round on Saturday. With that in mind, here are the predictions for few of the matches set for Day 6 of the US Open:
#1 - Alex de Minaur vs Dan Evans
De Minaur needed four sets to get past Marcos Giron in his opener, and then beat Otto Virtanen 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (3) to reach the third round. Evans outlasted 23rd seed Karen Khachanov in the longest match in the history of the US Open, sneaking past him after five hours and 30 minutes.
The Brit displayed no signs of exhaustion as he beat Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 after that. He has now won back-to-back matches for the first time this year. However, with only six wins to his name the entire season, he will start as the underdog in this match.
De Minaur, on the other hand, has racked up 39 wins this year. He's competing in singles for the first time since withdrawing from the Wimbledon quarterfinals due to an injury, and looks to be in great shape. While Evans has won all three of his prior matches against the Australian, the latter is likely to notch up his first win in this rivalry this time.
Predicted winner: Alex de Minaur
#2 - Tomas Machac vs David Goffin
Goffin knocked out 22nd seed Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets in the first round, and rallied from a set down to beat Adrian Mannarino 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the second round.
Machac ousted former top-10 player Fabio Fognini in his opener. He then upset 16th seed Sebastian Korda in straight sets to reach the third round of the US Open for the first time.
Goffin is a former top-10 player as well, and is slowly rounding into form after a disappointing season. He put together consecutive wins for the first time this year at last week's Winston-Salem Open, where he made the semifinals. He'll now aim to make the fourth round of the US Open for the fifth time in his career.
Machac has a better season compared to Goffin, and has twice as many wins as him this year. While he was on a three-match losing streak prior to the US Open, he's playing a lot better now. He ousted Goffin from Wimbledon last month, and could be the reason for his downfall once again given their results this year.
Predicted winner: Tomas Machac
#3 - Matteo Arnaldi vs Jordan Thompson
Arnaldi has been in fine form at the US Open thus far, winning both of his matches comfortably. He lost only six games against Zachary Svajda in his opener, and lost 10 games against Roman Safiullin in the next round.
Thompson eased past Constant Lestienne in the first round, and next beat seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (2), 6-1, 7-5 to reach the third round. The Australian as well as Arnaldi count a fourth-round showing at the US Open as their best result at a Major in singles.
Thompson made it that far in 2020, while Arnaldi did so on his debut last year. Both are in the midst of a career-best season, and have a comparable win-loss record for the year. This contest could swing either way, though the young Italian has a better shot at coming through this match, given that he already made the fourth round of a Major once this year.
Predicted winner: Matteo Arnaldi
#4 - Nuno Borges vs Jakub Mensik
Borges secured straight-set wins over Federico Coria and Thanasi Kokkinakis to reach the third round of the US Open for the first time. Mensik began his campaign with an upset win over 19th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, beating him 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
The Czech teen had to dig deep in the next round as he staged an impressive comeback from two sets down to defeat Tristan Schoolkate 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). He has matched his best result at the US Open by reaching the third round.
Borges already made the fourth round of a Major for the first at the Australian Open earlier this year, while Mensik will attempt to do the same now. This is a huge opportunity for both, and while the latter has experience on his side, the fearlessness of youth might trump that on this occasion.
Predicted winner: Jakub Mensik
