US Open — Day 5 03/09/26

Matches in Focus

• Bu v Zheng — US Open R2
• Monfils v Tien — US Open R2
• Auger-Aliassime v Khachanov — US Open R2
• Bonzi v Buse — US Open R2
• Svajda v Gea — US Open R2

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Yesterday in Review

Let's just forget about yesterday — genuinely the worst day in a while. The tennis card went −3.71u (−47.8% ROI), and football offered no cover either, going 0-for-6 for −2.75u. Rough one across the board. Let's go again, PPP community.

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Bu v Zheng

Bu produced the surprise result of the US Open so far, coming through as a lucky loser to demolish star boy Rafa Jodar. People wondered if Jodar was fully fit, but he came out and said he was — Bu just outplayed him, and he'll learn from the experience. Bu's always a dangerous player with crazy highs and lows, especially in fast conditions. The US Open courts aren't particularly quick compared to other hard courts, so Bu just balled out in the first round.

Michael Zheng has come on so strong through the swing and this whole season. This tournament's brought a lot of surprises so far, but one thing I've noticed is all the Americans are loving their time here at home — I think partly because they feel the draw's wide open and there's a chance to do something on home soil that furthers their careers and makes some noise on tour (every American currently in the draw, I'm talking about). Zheng should feel no different; if anything he should be thankful that this round he's got Bu and not Jodar. Zheng is the better player and should feel like this is an opportunity to go further than maybe originally hoped.

I really like Zheng here. I could see it being a bit longer and tougher than expected — Bu's no slouch and will be feeling great off his win — but I like Zheng to get through.

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Monfils v Tien

Monfils, on the farewell tour, gets a great win against Vallejo in four sets. The 39-year-old entertainer did great in victory and will have a big smile on his face regardless of tonight's result.

Tien was stellar in his first-round match, and if he can keep that level a quarterfinal is calling his name.

Tien's going to win this match — barring injury, in my mind it's 100%. But watching tennis makes you believe anything is possible. Monfils played four quick sets against Vallejo, but over five sets at 39 against a top player playing at home with a real chance to go deep, this will be too much for Monfils:

🎾 Tien -1.5 Sets & Zheng ML @ 2.10 (Bet365) — 1u

🇺🇸 Tien 3-0 @ 6/5 (Bet365) — 0.5u

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Auger-Aliassime v Khachanov

This should be an absolute slugfest. FAA comes in not the healthiest he's ever been, coming off a back injury last month — which can be hard to shake.

Khachanov hasn't played a lot of tennis the last couple of months, but he's always dangerous at Grand Slams because he's fantastic in the five-set format. That points to his fitness being at a top level.

FAA dropped a set to Hijikata, who, in fairness, is a tricky opponent, but won with relative ease in the first round. Khachanov won without breaking a sweat in his first-round match. This could go five, and I can't see it ending in three:

🎾 Auger-Aliassime/Khachanov O3.5 Sets @ 8/13 (Bet365) — 2u

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Bonzi v Buse

Two players who'll need more than three sets to win this. Not too much else to say — no way either does it in three.

Buse has played a lot recently and found rhythm on hard courts through the swing, but I fear that over five sets he could start to tire from match congestion, travel, and the warm conditions.

Bonzi's an up-and-down player but is in a good rhythm himself. They recently met in the Winston-Salem semi-final, which went three sets, with Buse winning.

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Svajda v Gea

Just like Bonzi v Buse, I can't imagine either of these two winning this in three sets.

Svajda started the year well, is good on hard courts, and should feel good about winning a tough first-round match (relatively) against Altmaier in four sets. He hasn't been at his best recently though — the inconsistencies of a newer player on tour have shown up, and he doesn't have the greatest power behind his shots.

I could basically copy and paste the same rundown on Gea. He's more of a hard-court specialist, hits a bit harder, but is more erratic and a bit younger.

Both will have moments of brilliance and moments of struggle:

🎾 Bonzi/Buse O3.5 Sets & Svajda/Gea O3.5 Sets @ 1.96 (Bet365) — 2u

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Remember to follow @PlayrPropPerson on Twitter for more picks and in-play updates.

Total staked: 5.5u . For The Love Of The Game.