Jakub Mensik vs Taylor Fritz Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP US Open

Prediction published on 01/09/2023, 11:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 01/09/2023 at 11:52 in Tennis Predictions

World number eight Taylor Fritz will take on qualifier Jakub Mensik in the third round of the US Open on Saturday. The winner of this match will move on to face Dominic Stricker or Benjamin Bonzi in the next round. Fritz comes into this round following a relatively easy win over Juan Pablo Varillas in the last round. He lost just five games in the match while managing to break his opponent's service on six occasions. The American has been in very good form since returning to the hard court in July. Fritz won the Atlanta Open and reached the semi-final in Washington a week later. His only disappointment over the last two months came in Canada, where he was knocked out in round two by Alex De Minaur. Still, he is 49-19 for the year and 31-8 on his favoured hard surface. The bookmakers have  Fritz as the overwhelming favourite in this match. 

Meanwhile, the dream is still alive for 18-year-old Jakub Mensik as he prepares to take on the highest-ranked opponent in his young career in this match. The teenager has never played in a main draw of an ATP event before this. He came through the qualifiers well, beating Fabio Fognini, Leandro Riedi, and Zdenek Kolar. However, he really caught the eye when he beat top-60-ranked Gregoire Barrere in the first round in four sets. Mensik has won two Challenger event titles this year, one of which was on the hard court back in March. The Czech has favoured the clay courts this year but has a positive record on the hard as well, currently 10-5 and 33-17 overall. Can he pull off what would be the biggest shock of the competition so far?