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After devastating rain on Wednesday wreaked havoc all over the New York City area, Thursday saw a return to normality at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In women's draw action, Amanda Anisimova (
UTR Rating 12.48) and Karolina Pliskova (UTR Rating 12.86) put on a late-night show with the Czech prevailing 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(7) to reach the third round.
On the men's side, the biggest performance came from the racquet of an on-fire Jenson Brooksby (UTR Rating 15.35). The 20-year-old American defeated compatriot Taylor Fritz (UTR Rating 15.31) in four sets. Brooksby has burst onto the scene in 2021 with a final run at the ATP 250 in Newport, and a semifinal appearance at the ATP 500 in Washington, D.C.
It's time to dive into Saturday's third-round matchups with in-depth analytics from Universal Tennis INSIGHTS.
(4) Karolina Pliskova (UTR Rating 12.86) vs. Ajla Tomljanovic (UTR Rating 12.52)
On Thursday night, Pliskova saved a match point and hit 24 aces to squeeze past Anisimova and she's rewarded for her hard work with another big hitter in Tomljanovic. Pliskova, a finalist in New York in 2016 and at Wimbledon earlier this summer, is seeking her first Grand Slam.
"Of course, the serve was huge part of this win," the 29-year-old Pliskova said. "I thought we kind of pushed each other with the serve. I had a couple of break points ... but we didn't have many chances on the return. For women's tennis, normally there is break, break, and break. That's quite impressive I think."
According to INSIGHTS, Pliskova is favored against Tomljanovic with 68% and has the edge in every INSIGHTS category including Trending UTR Rating and record versus common opponents. But Tomljanovic had a breakthrough at Wimbledon in reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 28-year-old Aussie hung tough in a 7-6(8), 6-4 win over No. 30 seed Petra Martic in the second round.
(21) Aslan Karatsev (UTR Rating 15.47) vs. Jenson Brooksby (UTR Rating 15.35)
Brooksby is playing with house money already as he booked his place in the third round by taking out Fritz on Wednesday. The Californian has been the talk of the tour this season and is proving he belongs at the top of the game. Closing out the match proved a challenge as Brooksby needed seven match points.
"I’m feeling great to get through that one. There were a lot of different things that run through the mind, during the match and after. But I was proud within myself..." Brooksby said. "That’s what you do all the training for. Those are the moments to enjoy the most… a place like the US Open, my home Grand Slam, it doesn’t get more exciting than that. I loved that atmosphere."
Karatsev fought back from two sets to love down to defeat Australian Jordan Thompson to reach his first third round in New York. The Russian was the first big breakthrough story of 2021 when he reached the Australian Open semifinals and followed it up with a title in Dubai. He recently beat Brooksby in the first round of Roland Garros and is favored by INSIGHTS with 56% odds of reaching the round of 16. Though Karatsev has the higher UTR Rating, Brooksby's Trending UTR Rating edges his by 0.10 (15.37 to 15.27).
(6) Bianca Andreescu (UTR Rating 12.52) vs. Greet Minnen (UTR Rating 12.26)
Andreescu is the favorite in this third-round match but according to INSIGHTS, don't expect a lopsided win as the Canadian has just 65% odds of moving on. Minnen is a lucky loser after falling in qualifying to Rebecca Marino. The 24-year-old is making her first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam third round. She has picked up wins over Nadia Podoroska and Liudmila Samsonova, and will have absolutely nothing to lose against Andreescu on Saturday.
Andreescu, the US Open champion in 2019, has struggled with injuries since her breakthrough 2019 season. She was tested in her opener against Viktorija Golubic and eased past Lauren Davis on Wednesday, 6-4, 6-4. Since reaching the Miami final in March, Andreescu has not won three matches in a row. She will be facing Minnen for the first time.
(22) Reilly Opelka (UTR Rating 15.30) vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili (UTR Rating 15.24)
Per INSIGHTS, this third-round matchup should be a tight one. Opelka has just an overall 2% edge at 51% to reach his first Grand Slam round of 16. He has yet to lose a set and has plenty of momentum from his run to his first ATP Masters final in Toronto earlier this summer. In his win over Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday, Opelka hit 31 aces, bringing his total ace count up to 64 this week.
Basilashvili has also yet to lose a set but he benefitted from a retirement from Sebastian Korda in the first round. The 29-year-old reached the fourth round in New York in 2018. Saturday will mark their first-ever meeting. The Georgian has experience on his side: He has been on tour since 2008 and has won five titles including two in 2021 (Doha and Munich).
Stay tuned for more from INSIGHTS, and to learn more about Universal Tennis, click here.
•UTR Ratings and INSIGHTS probabilities as of 12 p.m. EST, Sept. 3, 2021.