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Tommy Haas/Radek Stepanek vs Dominic Inglot/Robert Lindstedt
While both Tommy Haas and Radek Stepanek failed to win their respective first-round singles matches at the US Open, they did manage to reach the third round of the men’s doubles event as a team.
The experienced German and Czech pair won their first two matches in three sets, first beating Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero 6-2 3-6 6-3 before stealing a 6-3 3-6 7-6 win against Brazilians Thomaz Bellucci and Marcelo Demoliner.
Their opponents are in the form of Britain’s Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt from Sweden, who started the tournament with a shock defeat of number 2 seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in three sets 7-6 5-7 6-4. The pair’s second round match against the unseeded Belarussian Aliaksandr Bury and Uzbek Denis Istomin ended in a 7-6 7-6 victory, as look forward to upsetting more top seeds along the way.
Despite Tommy Haas and Radek Stepanek playing on the doubles circuit for a while now, this will be the first time they meet in a doubles match.
Prediction: Tommy Haas and Radek Stepanek to go through because of their collective experience, despite their opponents upsetting the number 2 seeds.
Marcel Granollers/Marc Lopez (7) vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut (12)
Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez will be competing in the third round of the US Open, and their opponents will be 12th ranked Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The two doubles pairs won their opening matches of the tournament fairly easy although they both did struggle in their second round matches, which both went to the third set.
The seventh-ranked duo of Granollers and Lopez brushed past Robin Haase and Julian Knowle 6-3 6-2 but dropped the second set in their second round match against France’s Lucas Pouille and Sergiy Stakhovsky, winning 6-4 4-6 6-2. Herbert and Mahut went through similar matches in their first two rounds, beating Guillermo Duran and Victor Estrella Burgos 6-3 6-4 followed by a struggling 6-3 6-7 7-6 win over Croat Mate Pavic and Aussie Michael Venus.
No head to head records exists for Granollers-Marc Lopez and Herbert-Mahut, making this the first match between the two doubles pairs.
Prediction: The result of this match is a hard one to call but expect the Spanish number seven seeds to win this one.
Philipp Oswald/Adil Shamasdin vs Jamie Murray/John Peers (8)
Eighth seeds Jamie Murray and John Peers continue their race towards the US Open title when they take on unseeded pair Philipp Oswald from Austria and Canadian Adil Shamasdin in Round 3 on Day 6. The Brit-Aussie pair have been comfortably winning their games at the Flushing Meadows so far, beating Americans Bjorn Fratangelo and Dennis Novikov 6-3 6-2 and following it up with a straight-sets 6-1 7-5 win over unseeded Colombian-Australian duo Colombian Santiago Giraldo and Rameez Junaid.
Their opponents Philipp Oswald and Adil Shamasdin encountered a rough second round match but still made it through to the next round after beating Marcus Daniell and Jonathan Marray 4-6 6-4 7-6. The first round clash was a much easier affair as they downed Alexander and Bruno Soares 6-3 6-3, although they will be a little worried ahead of their meeting with Jamie Murray and John Peers.
The third round fixture will be the first competitive tennis match between the two pairs in competitive tennis.
Prediction: Jamie Murray and John Peers to take this one in straight sets.
Anastasia Rodionova/Max Mirnyi vs Raquel Kops-Jones/Raven Klaasen (7)
Unseeded mixed doubles pair Anastasia Rodionova and Max Mirnyi will face number 7 seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Raven Klaasen in the second round of the US Open. The Australian and the Belarussian won their opening round match against Anda Perianu and Andrei Daescu, beating the Romanian duo in straight-sets 6-2 6-4.
South Africa’s Raven Klaasen and American Raquel Kops-Jones reached the second round courtesy a tense three-setter against Katarina Srebotnik and Dominic Inglot, which ended 7-6 3-6 10-5.
Prediction: The seventh seeds to win this one in a potential three-setter
Julia Goerges/Nenad Zimonjic (8) vs Simona Halep/Horia Tecau
24-year-old Simona Halep, seeded second in the singles, is already through to the fourth round of the women’s singles after her third round victory over Shelby Rogers, but the Romanian is also currently gunning for the mixed doubles title with her partner Horia Tecau. The pair will face Julia Goerges and Nenad Zimonjic after comfortably dispatching Spaniards Arantxa Parra Santonja and David Marrero 6-1 6-2 in the first round.
The 8th ranked German-Serbian pairing of Georges and Zimonjic dropped only two games in their first-round match against Americans Victoria Duval and Christian Harrison, beating their opponents comprehensively to set up a third round meeting with the unseeded Romanians.
Prediction: Georges and Zimonjic are overwhelming favourites to take this one, although the match could go to the third set.
