It’s day four in New York and we’ll be covering two of today’s second-round matches which should be good to watch: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jaime Faria and Alexander Bublik vs. Adrian Mannarino.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jaime Faria
Alcaraz eased through his first match back from a four-month wrist injury layoff, beating Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 without ever looking especially troubled. It’s still a long way to go and he’ll want to keep building match rhythm here without letting things drag out too long so early in his comeback.
Faria has been one of the breakout stories of the season, climbing from outside the top 150 in January into the top 75, and he arrives with real confidence after beating Ben Shelton in Cincinnati for the first top-10 win of his career. The Portuguese has been delivering solid results in plenty of big tournaments in the past months and he needed all his nerve to get past Jenson Brooksby in a tough first round battle.
This is a first meeting between these two players.
Predictions and best bets
Faria has shown he isn’t afraid of the occasion, and his power off both wings can trouble anyone on a given day, but sustaining that level for four or five sets against a healthy Alcaraz in a Slam might be too much to expect. This is a slightly tougher match for Carlitos and I will bet Faria takes one set but not more.
My bet: Alcaraz to win in four sets, at odds 3.25 or +225.
Alexander Bublik vs Adrian Mannarino
This could be a really fun match, between two different styles and both seem to be in fine form. This is the third meeting between them, one win each, but Mannarino claimed an easy win in their most recent match in Beijing last year. Bublik had just won a title in Hangzhou before that meeting so I assume that had some affect on his game.
Bublik, the 15th seed, hasn’t played other events this US hardcourt swing but he looked solid in the 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over J.J. Wolf in the first round.
Mannarino needed all five sets to get past Thiago Agustin Tirante, coming back from two sets down to win 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Impressive, but a huge physical effort for a 38-year-old against a much younger opponent.
Predictions and best bets
Mannarino is usually getting good results at the US Open and his battle in the first round was quite remarkable, against a big-hitter. Can he achieve this level again vs an even tougher opponent? Bublik’s game, when it’s clicking, should be too much variety and power over five sets. I say the Kazakh will take it in 4…
My bet: Bublik to win in four sets.
