Pick of the Day: Tallon Griekspoor vs. Grigor Dimitrov, US Open

Grigor Dimitrov has looked excellent at the US Open thus far. The Bulgarian beat qualifier Kyrian Jacquet 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round, and followed it up with a 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (4) dismantling of Rinky Hijikata. He now faces a step up in competition, Tallon Griekspoor in the third round. And while I expect Dimitrov to again emerge victorious, I like Griekspoor to cover a 6.5-game spread.

Griekspoor wasn’t playing great tennis in the run up to this event. He lost to Lorenzo Sonego in his first match in Montreal, and he followed it up with a loss to Alex Michelsen in Cincinnati. Since arriving in New York, though, Griekspoor has looked a lot like his usual self. He beat Sumit Nagal 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in his first match, and he was up 6-1, 2-0 on world No. 23 Sebastian Baez before the Argentine retired in the second round. Griekspoor had some time to find his form, and he should also have some fresh legs after having spent only 56 minutes on court in the last match.

This match has the potential to feature multiple lengthy sets. Over the last 52 weeks, Dimitrov is sixth on the ATP Tour in hold percentage (88.5%), and Griekspoor is 14th, at 85.2%. Both of these players have the ability to put their heads down and rack up easy service games, which is why it makes a lot of sense to take some games with the underdog.

Griekspoor hasn’t had a lot of success at Grand Slams, but he also rarely goes out with a stinker. It’s just hard to get blown off the court when you have a world-class serve, so I’m taking a shot on Griekspoor to make this respectable.

Pick: Griekspoor +6.5 Games (-150)