Ricky’s picks for Day 7 of the U.S. Open, including Tiafoe and Rublev

There are big opportunities in the bottom half of the U.S. Open draw now that Novak Djokovic has exited stage left. Alexei Popyrin ousted the 24-time Grand Slam champion and will try to keep his run going on Sunday, when he faces Frances Tiafoe. Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov are also in action.

Here are my previews and picks for two of Sunday’s best matchups.

(20) Frances Tiafoe vs. (28) Alexei Popyrin

Tiafoe probably figured would be running into Djokovic after the American battled past compatriot Ben Shelton in five sets on Friday. Instead, it will be Popyrin–who upset Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Friday night. Thus the first-ever showdown between Tiafoe and Popyrin will come on one of the biggest stages in this sport–week two of a major.

Tiafoe has turned around what had been a disappointing 2024 campaign. The world No. 20 tested Carlos Alcaraz in five sets at Wimbledon, was a semifinalist in Washington, D.C., and reached the Cincinnati final (lost to Jannik Sinner). Popyrin’s stunner against Djokovic continues what his been the best stretch of his tennis life. The 25-year-old Australian made it to the Wimbledon third round (lost to Djokovic in a fourth-set tiebreaker), reached round three of the Olympics, and won the Montreal Masters. This one could go either way, but a very slight edge goes to Tiafoe in what should be a high-quality contest between two confident players.

Pick: Tiafoe in 5

(6) Andrey Rublev vs. (9) Grigor Dimitrov

Rublev and Dimitrov will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-3 in favor of the Russian, who won their first-ever meeting at this same event back in 2017–when he was just 19 years old (7-5, 7-6(3), 6-3). He most recently got the job done 7-6(7), 6-3 at the Shanghai Masters last fall.

Rublev, the Montreal runner-up to Popyrin, has advanced this fortnight with defeats of Thiago Seyboth Wild, Arthur Rinderknech (from two sets down), and Jiri Lehecka. Much unlike his opponent, Dimitrov won just a single match combined at the Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. However, the ninth-ranked Bulgarian has played well in New York–coasting past Kyrian Jacquet, Rinky Hijikata, and Tallon Griekspoor without surrendering a single set. Unfortunately for Dimitrov, he now faces a player who has restored confidence and has been to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam already 10 times.

Pick: Rublev in 4

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.