10SBALLS SHARES RICKY’S PICKS FOR DAY 10 AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS: ANDY MURRAY VS. KEI NISHIKORI & STAN WAWRINKA VS. JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO

Written by: Staff on 6th September 2016

10SBALLS SHARES RICKY'S PICKS FOR DAY 10 AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS: ANDY MURRAY VS. KEI NISHIKORI & STAN WAWRINKA VS. JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO

epa05525694 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina hits a return to Dominic Thiem of Austria on the eighth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JUSTIN LANE |

By Ricky Dimon

The quarterfinal lineup in the bottom half of the U.S. Open bracket could not offer anything much better than what will be on display at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday. Three of the tournament’s top eight seeds (Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and Kei Nishikori) are joined by 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro.

Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions:

(6) Kei Nishikori vs. (2) Andy Murray

Murray and Nishikori on Wednesday just recently squared off in the semifinals of the Olympics and now they will meet again in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. The Scot dominated 6-1, 6-4 in Rio to improve to 7-1 in the head-to-head series. In six of his seven wins the world No. 2 has refused to donate even a single to Nishikori, but the lone exception came back in March and it was not one to be forgotten. In a first-round Davis Cup clash between Great Britain and Japan, Murray secured the clinching point with a 7-5, 7-6(6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory in front of the home crowd.

Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return to Paolo Lorenzi of Italy on the sixth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 03 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/BRIAN HIRSCHFELD

Murray’s year has been so impressive that Great Britain’s run back to the Davis Cup semifinals–after winning it all last year–has been almost lost among his accomplishments. The three-time major champion is 54-7 with another Wimbledon title and a second consecutive gold medal in men’s singles. Murray, a recent runner-up in Cincinnati, has maintained his fine form in New York with defeats of Lukas Rosol, Marcel Granollers, Paolo Lorenzi, and Grigor Dimitrov. He stumbled at times in a four-set win over Lorenzi but picked up the pace to destroy Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday night. Nishikori has advanced by beating Benjamin Becker, Karen Khachanov, Nicolas Mahut, and Ivo Karlovic. The world No. 7 also raised his level on Monday to the tune of his first straight-set victory of the fortnight. Unfortunately for Nishikori, this is not a good matchup for him and Murray is simply the best player on tour right now.

Pick: Murray in 4

(WC) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka and Del Potro will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers and at a second consecutive Grand Slam when they meet again on Wednesday night. They collided just recently in the second round of Wimbledon, where Del Potro pulled off a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 upset to win his fourth match in a row against Wawrinka and extend his head-to-head series lead to 4-2. Surprisingly, they have not met a single time on a hard court.

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland hits a return to Alessandro Giannessi of Italy on the fourth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

The hard-court drought came dangerously close to being extended, as Wawrinka found himself one point away from defeat in a third-round battle with Dan Evans. The unseeded Brit had a match point in the fourth set but Wawrinka stormed back for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-2 victory. Not much has been routine at this event for the third-ranked Swiss, who has also advanced with wins over Fernando Verdasco, Alessandro Giannessi, and Illya Marchenko. Del Potro, on the other hand, has stormed through his part of the draw without dropping a set. The 2009 champion took care of Diego Schwartzman, Steve Johnson, and David Ferrer before getting a second-set retirement from Dominic Thiem. Thus continues a resurgent summer for Del Potro, who took out Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on his way to silver at the Rio Olympics. Based on current form and Del Potro’s history of success in this matchup, the Argentine’s run should make another giant leap forward.

Pick: Del Potro in 4