US Open Daily Preview: Taylor Fritz Faces Matteo Berrettini in the Second Round - UBITENNIS

US Open Daily Preview: Taylor Fritz Faces Matteo Berrettini in the Second Round

By Matthew Marolf
8 Min Read

Second round singles action commences on Wednesday in New York, on what is forecast to be a particularly hot day.

Day 3 is highlighted by a battle of the Boss-sponsored players, as the top-ranked American man Taylor Fritz takes on Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.  Plus, three-time Major finalist Casper Ruud plays fan favorite Gael Monfils.  And Novak Djokovic faces a man who took the first two sets off him in their match here a year ago, Laslo Djere.

Second round WTA action on Wednesday is headlined by defending champion Coco Gauff, last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, and a resurgent Paula Badosa squaring off against recent Wimbledon doubles champion Taylor Townsend.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.


Taylor Townsend vs. Paula Badosa (26) – 11:00am on Louis Armstrong Stadium

Injuries have plagued the career of Badosa the last few years, but last month in Washington, she claimed her first title in two-and-a-half years.  Just two weeks later in Cincinnati, Paula advanced to the semifinals, winning her first four rounds in straight sets.  She did the same on Monday against Viktorija Golubic, as she looks to reach the third round at all four Majors this year.

Townsend achieved a career milestone last month at Wimbledon, winning the ladies’ doubles championship alongside Katerina Siniakova.  She also recently returned to the top 50 in singles, thanks to eight match wins between Toronto and Cincinnati (including qualifying).  Taylor upset Jelena Ostapenko in Toronto with the loss of just three games, then upset Daria Kasatkina in Cincy.

Their only previous encounter occurred earlier this year at the Australian Open, where Badosa easily prevailed 6-1, 6-3.  But I do not expect this match to be as easy for the Spaniard, as Townsend is having a good summer, and will enjoy a partisan crowd inside Armstrong Stadium.  However, I still give the slight edge to Paula based on her recent form.


Casper Ruud (8) vs. Gael Monfils – Not Before 5:00pm on Grandstand

Ruud had an excellent first five months to the year, especially on clay, but has been rather lackluster of late on other surfaces.  He went just 1-2 on grass, a surface he has openly displayed distain for, and also went just 1-1 between Montreal and Cincinnati, as he battled illness earlier this month.  Casper was a finalist in New York two years ago, but last year lost in the second round.

Monfils is a modest 21-18 on the year, but has been playing good tennis across the last few weeks.  In Cincinnati, he upset Carlos Alcaraz 6-4 in the third.  And on Monday, he ended Diego Schwartzman’s US Open career in four sets. 

They have split two prior meetings, with Monfils winning six years ago on clay, and Ruud winning six months ago on a hard court.  That recent matchup took place at Indian Wells, with Casper victorious in a tight three-setter.  Yet on Wednesday, I would not be surprised to see Gael take out the 2022 runner-up, just two weeks after beating the 2022 champion.


Laslo Djere vs. Novak Djokovic (2) – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium

A year ago in the third round, Djere shockingly took the first two sets against his fellow Serbian, before Djokovic came back to rather easily take the last three.  Their only other match was also extremely tight, with Novak needing a third-set tiebreak to outlast Laslo two years ago on clay in Belgrade, after well over three hours of play.

Djere peaked at No.27 in the world back in 2019, thanks to a title run in Rio.  However, he’s just 6-14 in 2024 at tour level, and his five-set victory over Jan-Lennard Struff on Monday night was only his second of the year on a hard court. 

Djokovic is of course coming off what he referred to as the greatest achievement of his career: winning Olympic gold a few weeks ago in Paris.  And he is situated on the opposite half of the draw from the other three favorites to win in men’s singles: Sinner, Alcaraz, and Medvedev.  So I expect Novak to play rather freely during this fortnight, and to gain another win over his fellow countryman, this time a bit more comfortably.


Matteo Berrettini vs. Taylor Fritz (12) – Last on Louis Armstrong Stadium

Fritz is 39-16 this season, and has reached the quarterfinals at three of the last four Majors.  However, he’s yet to advance farther in his career, and at Wimbledon he was the favorite to do so against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, yet lost in five.  Taylor had a very busy Olympics, playing in three disciplines and winning a bronze medal in men’s doubles.  But he must be feeling a bit drained, and went just 1-2 between Montreal and Cincy.

Berrettini suffered a bad ankle injury in the same round of this same tournament a year ago, and would miss the next six months of action.  He’s 26-7 this year, with three clay court titles at smaller events.  But Matteo is 0-3 in 2024 at Masters 1000 level, and just 2-1 at Majors, so he’s yet to make any impression at a big event this year.

Fritz is an undefeated 3-0 against Berrettini, with all three wins coming on this surface, the last two of which were in straight sets.  The American is currently the more match-tough player at this level, and with the injury-prone Italian sporting tape on his leg, Taylor must be favored to make if 4-0 against Matteo.


Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:

Lucia Bronzetti vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka cruised through her opening round match late on Monday night, and she’s won her last 13 second round matches at Majors.  At the beginning of this year in Brisbane, she crushed Bronzetti 6-3, 6-0.

Alexandre Muller vs. Alexander Zverev (4) – Zverev required four sets to win in the first round, his ATP-leading 53rd win of the season.  Muller is a 27-year-old Frenchman who has never advanced beyond the second round of a Slam.

Ben Shelton (13) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut – Shelton ended Dominic Thiem’s Grand Slam career in straight sets on Monday afternoon.  This is a rematch from the first round of January’s Australian Open, when Ben beat Roberto in straights.

Tatjana Maria vs. Coco Gauff (3) – Gauff performed strongly on Monday to begin her first Major title defense, dropping just two games.  At the beginning of this year in Auckland, she comfortably defeated Maria 6-4, 6-1.


Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.

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