Tsonga’s service game has been spot-on in Flushing. He’s averaging around 15 aces per match, and has converted at least 80 percent of his first serve points in all three matches thus far. He’s also been broken just three times, with opponents winning under 30 percent of their return points.
Sock’s serve hasn’t been too bad, either, especially in his last two matches. He put in 69 percent of his first serves against and won 80 percent of his second serve points against Mischa Zverev in the second round. And in the third round, he simply blew World No. 9 Marin Cilic away by winning an astounding 79 percent of all possible service points.
Tsonga won their lone meeting last year in the Madrid Masters, but Sock did win the second set 6-1 before succumbing in a third-round tie-break.
Writer’s Prediction: Sock pulls off the slight upset over Tsonga as the American wins a five-set war.
Dominic Thiem (+200) vs. Juan Martin del Potro (-260)
Thiem’s road to the Round of 16 has been anything but smooth. The World No. 10 needed five sets to beat John Millman in the very first round, and had to come back from a set down to defeat Pablo Carreno Busta in the previous round.
That’s in stark contrast to Juan Martin del Potro’s run, which has been nothing short of dominant. The former US Open champ has carried on the momentum of his magical Olympic run onto Flushing, as he has won each of his first three matches via straight-sets.
His return game has been razor sharp, and should prove troublesome for Thiem, who has already been broken 12 times in the tournament. del Potro defeated Thiem in their lone career meeting, which came earlier this year at the Madrid Masters.
Writer’s Prediction: del Potro continues his dominant run with another straight-sets win.
Dimitrov will likely be pretty diminished physically and mentally after playing nine out of a possible 10 sets in his last two matches against Jeremy Chardy and Joao Sousa. That’s not the status anyone would want ahead of a matchup with an in-form Andy Murray.
The World No. 2 finally dropped his first set of the tournament in the previous round against Paolo Lorenzi, but has looked quite impressive for the most part. The Brit has now bolstered his hard court record this season to 20-4.
Murray holds a 6-3 edge in career head-to-heads with Dimitrov. Although, the Bulgarian did win their lone meeting this year at the Miami Masters.
Writer’s Prediction: Murray moves on to yet another US Open quarterfinal with a straight-sets win over Dimitrov.
Complete Listing of 2016 US Open Men’s Singles Round of 16 Matchups
Matchup
Pick
Gael Monfils (-650) vs. Marcos Baghdatis (+425)
Gael Monfils
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (-155) vs. Jack Sock (+125)
Jack Sock
Rafael Nadal (-1,800) vs. Lucas Pouille (+900)
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic (-1,800) vs. Kyle Edmund (+900)
Novak Djokovic
Dominic Thiem (+200) vs. Juan Martin del Potro (-260)
