Editors note :
Dimitrov / Goffin sounds like a dream match to watch. Two beautiful shotmakers
Simon and Ferrer sounds like a slugfest battle. But still good to watch. & Lopez / Thiem. Great tennis on Sunday ! Enjoy !
By Ricky Dimon
Fans of Roger Federer with both day and night U.S. Open tickets on Sunday may think they are getting to see the 17-time Grand Slam championship twice. They will, in fact, see Federer once. But the second men’s third-round match of the day will feature not Federer, but a man who has molded his playing style after that of the Swiss–Grigor Dimitrov.
Let’s take a look at Sunday’s eight men’s matches:
Marcel Granollers vs. (2) Roger Federer: Federer will be part of the day session, so Darth Federer may be out and the Michael Jordan shoes may be in. We’ll see. In fact, Federer’s choice of attire may be more interesting than the match itself, because this will be one-way traffic from start to finish.
(7) Grigor Dimitrov vs. David Goffin: This is Dimitrov’s debut as the headliner of an Arthur Ashe night session. It may end up being Goffin’s coming-out party. The diminutive Belgian has been absolutely on fire this summer, having won 27 of 28 matches since Wimbledon. Granted, most of those have come on the Challenger circuit; Dimitrov is obviously a much different beast. Still, get your popcorn ready. This is gonna be good.
(26) Gilles Simon vs. (4) David Ferrer: To each his own. Some tennis fans would rather gouge their eyes out than watch this matchup unfold on a tennis court. Others relish this type of stuff. It’s going to an absolute war of attrition with 20-ball rallies the norm and perhaps 40-ball exchanges on more than a few occasions. Count me in.
(6) Tomas Berdych vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili: Normally competition is supposed to get tougher as Grand Slams progress. It has been going in the opposite direction for Berdych: first Lleyton Hewitt, then Martin Klizan, and now Gabashvili. Of course, that doesn’t mean the outcomes will follow suit. After all, Berdych destroyed Hewitt but then almost lost to Klizan.
(20) Gael Monfils vs. (12) Richard Gasquet: The Grandstand was filled to capacity 30 minutes before Monfils’ last match against Alejandro Gonzalez and the crowd was already doing the wave. Monfils gets bumped up to Louis Armstrong for a bigger match against Gasquet, and you can be sure the atmosphere will be similarly electric. Expect French fireworks.
(14) Marin Cilic vs. (18) Kevin Anderson: These two are about a similar as it can get in terms of playing style: good but not unreturnable serves, impressive movement for big men, strong two-handed backhands, and powerful but unreliable forehands. The difference is that Cilic has been putting all those ingredients together throughout this season. Anderson has not–at least not on a consistent basis.
(19) Feliciano Lopez vs. Dominic Thiem: For most of Friday afternoon it looked like Lopez would be facing Ernests Gulbis in the third round. Instead, the Spaniard will be facing Gulbis’ best friend on tour. Thiem came back from two sets to love down to beat his favored friend and his reward is a first-ever appearance in the third round of a slam. It may be a better matchup for Lopez than Gulbis would have been, but going up against a talent like Thiem is always a dangerous proposition.
Adrian Mannarino vs. (17) Roberto Bautista Agut: This is basically the forgotten match on Sunday, and it is the only one of the eight that is not on one of the three show courts. Bautista Agut is probably pleased that he does not have to put up with the tomfoolery of Fabio Fognini, who got blown out by Mannarino on Friday.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.
Topics: Arthur Ashe, David Ferrer, David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Kevin Anderson, Marcel Granollers, Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych, US Open
RICKY’S PICKS 2014 U.S. OPEN THIRD ROUND CONCLUDES WITH #FEDERER AND #DIMITROV IN #ARTHURASHE- http://t.co/cNQFcA0AkX #USOpen2014