Frances Tiafoe vs Alexei Popyrin - US Open Tennis Prediction and Pick 9/1/24

Frances Tiafoe got his revenge over his good friend Ben Shelton to reach the fourth round of the 2024 US Open. Tiafoe won a thriller in front of a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium, fighting back from a 2-1 sets deficit to prevail in five sets, with the match lasting four hours.

In the victory, Tiafoe withstood 23 aces from Shelton and hammered five aces of his own. He got 57% of first serves in play and won 76% of first-serve points (69/91). Tiafoe won 60% of second-serve points (41/68) and converted five of 21 break points. 

Alexei Popyrin, meanwhile, scored one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by eliminating the second seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic on a dramatic Friday night.

Popyrin, who had lost to Djokovic in their two previous Grand Slam meetings this season, played with nerves of steel to complete a four-set stunner against the 37-year-old Serb, who will finish the season without a major title for the first time since 2017. It's the first time he has reached this stage of a Grand Slam, and he's likely to break the Top 20 if he defeats Tiafoe.

Frances Tiafoe vs Alexei Popyrin Head-To-Head

• Tiafoe and Popyrin have no previous history on the ATP Tour.

Frances Tiafoe vs Alexei Popyrin Prediction

This is such a tight line, and after the pre-tournament draw projection of Djokovic and Shelton potentially meeting again, we got a very different round-of-16 match. Popyrin will be playing for more than a spot in the quarterfinal. A Top 20 breakthrough is on the line, and he might believe he can win the tournament. His confidence is through the roof right now. It was almost unthinkable to fathom that idea. But after winning a maiden Masters in Montreal earlier in August and stunning one of the favorites in the first week of the US Open, Popyrin should be taken very seriously.