US Open: Must-watch matches on Day 4 includes Carlos Alcaraz

The 2023 US Open is now into the second day of the second round. We’ve seen a handful of upsets, but most of the top players remain. On Thursday, there are quite a few matches worth checking on frequently, including top-seed on the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz, playing South Africa’s Lloyd Harris.

Harris has played some good tennis in his career. He was ranked as high as 31 in 2021. He’s also streaky. If he gets on a roll against Carlos Alcaraz, which admittedly is unlikely, Harris could make tennis life not fun on Thursday. Harris made the semis at the Mallorca Open in late June and the Round of 16 in Atlanta in late July. But he also has a bunch of one-and-done tournaments this year.

Meanwhile, while Carlos Alcaraz has continued to make deep runs in tournaments, he hasn’t played his best tennis since he won Wimbledon. Most of his matches, prior to his first-round match of the US Open, have gone full sets. Being the king isn’t all that much fun sometimes.

Carlos Alcaraz is among the matches to watch on Day 4 of the US Open

Another excellent match to keep track of is when two Italians – sixth-seed Janik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego – face off. The two have met before and Sinner has won both matches. Sonego at least won a set of Sinner in the Round of 16 at the Halle Open earlier this year. Sinner, of course, is one of the best young players on the ATP tour.

In what may be one of the more interesting matches on Thursday, Gael Monfils (who has been playing some excellent tennis over the last couple of months) plays eighth-seed Andrey Rublev. Monfils is one of the best showmen in the history of the sport. Rublev doesn’t hide his emotions on the court but seems well-liked off the court.

Two excellent veterans on the men’s side also play on Thursday. 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray will play 19th-seed Grigor Dimitrov. Plus, John Isner, who is retiring after this US Open and possibly has the greatest serve ever, goes against fellow American, Michael Mmoh.

The women’s side could potentially see a bunch of blowouts. (That probably means I have jinxed the seeded players and we will see quite a few upsets.) One match to watch is how well fifth-seed Ons Jabeur is feeling (she’s been dealing with a bad cold or the flu) when she plays Linda Noskova.