RICKY’S PICKS FOR DAY 6 AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS, INCLUDING THIEM VS. PABLO CARRENO BUSTA OR IS IT PABLO CARRENO? & DIMITROV VS. SOUSA

Written by: Staff on 2nd September 2016

Western and Southern Open tennis tournament

RICKY'S PICKS FOR DAY 6 AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS, INCLUDING THIEM VS. PABLO CARRENO BUSTA OR IS IT PABLO CARRENO? & DIMITROV VS. SOUSA

epa05490533 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain hits a return shot to Gael Monfils of France in their first round match of the Western & Southern Open tennis championships at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 16 August 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

By Ricky Dimon

Dominic Thiem may have found a second win in 2016, because he currently finds himself in the third round of the U.S. Open and fresh off an impressive beatdown of Ricardas Berankis. Next up for Thiem on Saturday is Winston-Salem champion Pablo Carreno Busta. Grigor Dimitrov, Joao Sousa, Nick Kyrgios, and Illya Marchenko are also in action.

Ricky previews and makes his predictions for three of the most intriguing Saturday matchups:

(8) Dominic Thiem vs. Pablo Carreno Busta

Dominic Thiem of Austria hits a return to John Millman of Australia on the second day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 30 August 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/PETER FOLEY

Thiem and Carreno Busta will be facing each other for the third time in their careers at the ATP level and for the fifth time overall. Both of their previous main-tour meetings have gone Thiem’s way; 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 last year in Gstaad and 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 earlier this season in Buenos Aires–also on red clay. Carreno Busta’s lone wincame via a 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 decision in a 2013 clay-court Challenger title match in Como, Italy.

Since overbooking the first half of his 2016 schedule, Thiem has struggled with fatigue and other minor physical ailments. But playing only three completed matches in between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open may have reinvigorated the Austrian. He survived a five-setter against John Millman in round one before crushing Berankis 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday. Now it is Carreno Busta who may be the one feeling a lot of matches in his legs. The world No. 39 captured the first ATP title of his career last weekend in Winston-Salem, outlasting fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in a tight three-setter. Carreno Busta opened in Flushing Meadows by handling qualifier Ilya Ivashka and then defeated Janko Tipsarevic 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Pick: Thiem in 3

Joao Sousa vs. (22) Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov and Sousa will be colliding for the fourth time in their careers (third at the ATP level). They squared off in round one of this event three years ago, when Sousa got the job done 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. That gave the current world No. 36 a 2-0 lead in the head-to-head series (a 2008 indoor Challenger result included) before Dimitrov prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 last fall in Kuala Lumpur.

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria hits a return shot to Marin Cilic of Croatia during their semifinal match in the Western & Southern Open tennis championships at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

The Bulgarian slumped through the first half of the this year, but he heated up earlier this summer in time for 2016’s final major with a quarterfinal showing in Toronto and a semifinal performance in Cincinnati. The world No. 24 has continued his winning ways by beating Inigo Cervantes in straights and Jeremy Chardy in five. Sousa is through to the third round of a Grand Slam for the third time this season following victories over Victor Estrella Burgos (6-0, 6-1, 6-1) and Feliciano Lopez (6-2, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5). Still, the Portuguese is a mere 20-26 for his 2016 campaign. The third round of slams has proven to be Sousa’s undoing and an in-form Dimitrov will likely extend that trend.

Pick: Dimitrov in 4

(14) Nick Kyrgios vs. Illya Marchenko

Nick Kyrgios of Australia returns to Lucas Pouillem (not pictured) of France in the first round match of the Western & Southern Open tennis championships at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 15 August 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Oh, the benefits of being seeded at a slam. Last summer, an unseeded Kyrgios had to go up against Andy Murray in the first round of the U.S. Open. Fast forward 12 months and the Australian has climbed to 16th in the rankings, good for the No. 14 seed in New York. With a favorable draw to work with, Kyrgios thrashed Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 before making routine 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 work of Horacio Zeballos. The recent Atlanta champion is a stellar 33-12 for the year, although that title is really his only notable result since a Madrid quarterfinal in May.

For the first time in his career, Marchenko is finally making an appearance in the last 32 of a major. The 28-year-old Ukrainian fought past Ivan Dodig 7-5 in the fourth and then walloped Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. Armed with a rare clean bill of health, Marchenko repaired his ranking earlier in 2016 with consistent success on the Challenger tour but had been 11-16 at the ATP level prior to this event (including 0-9 in his last nine tour-level tournament matches). As the competition level ratchets up drastically from what Dodig and Dzumhur offered, Marchenko will likely see his run come to an end amidst an onslaught of Kyrgios serves.

Pick: Kyrgios in 3

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Editors Note: A few years back we were sitting watching RAFA. BENITO Perez the great manager / public relations man and all round tennis guru spent the match telling Pablo to drop the last part of his name. The handsome and proud kid kept shaking his head “NO”. Now BENITO is a man who doesn’t like the word “NO”…. Whenever we see Pablo’s name posted as Carreno or Carreno BUSTA we laugh and remember what it’s like to listen to Benito’s nervous energy during any / all RAFA matches. Watch out for the kid. He can play top ten tennis.

Topics: 10sballs.com, 2016 US Open, Atp World Tour, Dominic Thiem, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Illya Marchenko, Joao Sousa, Nick Kyrgios, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, US Open tennis

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loveyjergens says:

September 2, 2016 at 12:18 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s Picks For Day 6 At The #USOpen #Tennis – Thiem vs Carreno & Dimitrov vs Sousa
https://t.co/mRRT19pjfc https…