For the second year in a row, Juan Martin Del Potro and Dominic Thiem are slated to meet in the fourth round of the US Open. Join The Roar for live scores from around 5:30am (AEST).
Del Potro advanced out of last year’s match, but not in the way he would have wanted. Thiem struggled for movement throughout the contest, and eventually had to withdraw with the scoreline reading 6-3, 3-2.
The Argentinian went on to lose in the quarter-finals against eventual champion Stan Wawrinka, but he has maintained strong form for the last 12 months and this promises to be an excellent match-up.
While Del Potro’s form over the last year has been good, he bombed out of both the French Open and Wimbledon early, and is out to make amends at a tournament he won in 2009. Even considering a relatively easy draw, he is yet to drop a set throughout the tournament.
He won a pair of tie breakers in a first round victory over Henri Laaksonen, before dominating the first two sets against Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, then needing a tie-breaker to get the job done.
The final set saw him take on the seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, who he sent out with ease in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 thrashing. Del Potro’s serve, despite not being big has been consistent and his court movement has looked fantastic – something he will need to do well against Thiem, who is one of the more powerful players on tour.
While Thiem has a tendency to be a little inconsistent at times, on his day, he has some of the best groundstrokes on the ATP circuit.
They have been firing through the US Open, and players without a strong defence have been blasted off the court. Alex De Minaur went down with ease in the first round, while Adrian Mannarino – by no means a poor player also stood no chance in the third.
Thiem has lost a set, coming against Taylor Fritz in the second round, but it shouldn’t be a cause for concern given the way Thiem fought back straight away.
Apart from their US Open match last year, the pair have met on one other occasion also last year in Madrid with Del Potro winning that match in straight sets on clay.
The winner of this match will move onto the quarter-finals, where a likely match against Roger Federer awaits. His fourth round match will be against Philipp Kohlschreiber, headlining the night session on Arthur Ashe.
Prediction
This is a hard match to tip and one way or another, it will probably go all the way. Del Potro has more experience and that’s going to come invaluable for the 2009 champion at the back end of this match.
Del Potro in five sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from around 5:30am (AEST) or at the completion of the doubles match featuring Bob and Mike Bryan on the grandstand court and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
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