US Open Predictions 2022: SportsTips’ Top Tennis Picks For Round of 16

Well, well, well, the seeds on both sides of the draw continue to drop like flies, which means it’s wide open for any player to take advantage. It’s now time for the quarterfinals and we are so disappointed to see that Serena Williams’ run has come to an end, after being defeated in the last round.

While on the men’s side of the draw, there were a number of surprising results, and it is good to see that there are still a number of Americans left in the draw. We are expecting to see more upsets in the Round of 16, but which players will be able to rise up to the occasion and move into the Quarterfinals, we are going to find out soon!

Enjoy our free tennis picks and predictions for each round at the US Open for the 2022 season.

Round of 16 Tennis Picks at the US Open: Men’s Draw

Daniil Medvedev (1) vs Nick Kyrgios (23)

The number one overall seed Daniil Medvedev takes on the 23rd seeded Nick Kyrgios in this fourth round match up. The number one ranked player in the world has yet to drop a set and is 9-0 in nine sets coming into this match. While Kyrgios has lost only one set up until this point. As both players will be looking for a huge win in this game. 

Denis Kirilov

Daniil Medvedev will have one of his toughest opponents on the ATP Tour – Nick Kyrgios. The Australian has already beaten him 3 times in their four meetings and it seems that 2022 is his year. Kyrgios reached the Wimbledon Final which made many people recognize his talent. He is undoubtedly one of the most gifted players on the Tour which has not once given him the upper hand in the heads-up. However, he is also quite unpredictable, but his performance at the US Open this year has been stable. Defeating Bonzi, Kokkinakis, and Wolf might not seem like a great achievement, but he has only given away one set. 

On the other hand, the World No.1 will need to defend his statute as a leader on the Tour as he typically performs well in New York. Medvedev won his sole Grand Slam here in 2021 when he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets. The Russian has been merciless this year as well as only Arthur Rinderknech managed to scoop 5 games in a single set from him. However, I suspect that we will witness a fabulous battle between two great tennis players and that’s why I will definitely go with the “over” in terms of games here. 

Jack Hartman

A clash of styles awaits in this eagerly awaited contest as Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios square off in what could be a sensational match. The two met just a few weeks at the Montreal Masters and it was the Australian who got the better of the Russian in three enormously entertaining sets. Both have been in brilliant form during the first three rounds of the tournament. Kyrgios has lost just one set and made quick work of Thanasi Kokkinakis, Benjamin Bonzi and Jeffrey John Wolff. Kyrgios’s mind still looks to be in a great place but it will be tested to the limit here.

Medvedev has played like a number one seed should and has been ruthless on his way into round 4. Medvedev is looking to not only win his second grand slam but is also looking to end the year as the world number one, a defeat here will cost him both. The longer this match goes on, the more likely the Russian is to come out on top. Over the longer format, I just don’t know if Kygrios has either the game or mind to outlast the Russian in what could be a grueling encounter. If Kygrios can serve to his best he has a great chance but I’m siding with Medvedev here. 

Marin Čilić (15) vs Carlos Alcaraz (3)

The fifteenth overall seed Marin Cilic takes on the 3rd seeded Carlos Alcaraz in this fourth round match up. The number third seeded player in the tournament has yet to drop a set and is 9-0 in nine sets coming into this match. While Cilic has lost only one set up until this point. As both players will be looking for a huge win in this game.

Denis Kirilov

Marin Cilic has fond memories of US Open as this was the only major tournament he has won throughout his career. Back in 2014, he ousted Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the final to be crown champion in Flushing Meadows. After a tough 2021, he managed to strike back this year with a Fourth Round in Australia and a Semi-Final in Paris. The 33-year-old Croatian made his retun to the top 20 and is certainly able to make an upset anytime. He relies much on his first serve as well as on his ferocious strikes from the baseline. 

On the other hand, we have a complex mixture between Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic or at least that’s some of the comparisons Carlos Alcaraz draws. The young Spaniard managed to surprise the world with his game at an early age which put him in a very interesting spot in the beginning of his career. The 19-year-old has already achieved something other top 20 players haven’t done for 10+ years in tennis as he has won two ATP Masters 1000 and defeated both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Being an all-court player will certainly help him against Cilic as I expect to see an easy win for Alcaraz here. 

Jack Hartman

Marin Čilić has carried on the good form of his bounce back season and is looking to make the quarterfinals for the sixth time in his career. A winner of this tournament back in 2014, clearly the Croat loves everything that New York has to offer. Čilić has been impressive throughout the tournament so far. The big hitting Croat has had to overcome some tricky challenges but has progressed with the bare minimum of fuss. His four set win over the resurgent Daniel Evans in round 3 showed what a good place Čilić’s game must be as he played some terrific tennis en route to victory.

Čilić faces arguably one of the biggest challenges in the game in the form of Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz has the ability to finish the year as the world number one which would cap off an incredible year for the 19 year old. Alcaraz is looking to match his achievements of last year and reach the quarterfinals. Alcaraz showed what a good player he is round 3 by destroying the incredibly tricky Jenson Brooksby in three comfortable sets. Brooksby has shown he can get under the skin of even the very best, but Alcaraz was professional, beating the American comfortably. The two met just a few weeks ago at Cincinnati and it was Alcaraz who came out on top. I am expecting a similar outcome here. 

Frances Tiafoe (22) vs Rafael Nadal (2)

The second  overall seed Rafael Nadal takes on the 22nd seeded Frances Tiafoe in this fourth round match up. The 22nd seeded player in the tournament has yet to drop a set and is 9-0 in nine sets coming into this match. While Nadal has lost only two sets up until this point. As both players will be looking for a huge win in this game.

Denis Kirilov

Rafael Nadal typically struggles against unseeded opponents and becomes a monster when facing a tough and well-rounded competitor like Frances Tiafoe. However, the American has shown quite a lot of strenghts throughout his career to go down without a battle at US Open. He comes on a 3-game winning streak without losing a set here as he defeated Marcos Giron, Jason Kubler, and Diego Schwartzman. The 24-year-old Tiafoe lacks some consistency at Grand Slams as he his best result came in Australia in 2019 when he reached the Quarter-Finals. 

Nadal is undountedly one of the greatest players in the history of tennis. Winning his 21st Grand Slam, thus achieving his top priority goal, however, made him look and feel young once again. He hasn’t lost at a Grand Slam this year as he is on a 22-game winning streak at such tournaments (excluding his withdraw against Nick Kyrgios in Wimbledon’s Semi-Finals). Nadal plays well against Tiafoe historically as he is yet to lose a set against his younger opponent. Moreover, he hasn’t lost more than four games in a single set to Tiafoe, cementing his decent performance against him. I will play it safe and go with another three-setter for Nadal here. 

Jack Hartman

Frances Tiafoe is the last American standing on the men’s side of the draw and is looking to reach the quarterfinals of his home grand slam for the very first time. It’s been a sunny season for Tiafoe who despite playing well for the majority of the season just hasn’t been able to string the wins together. That’s been a different story here though as the American has played some of the best tennis of his career to reach round 4 without dropping a set. His straight set victory over Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the last round was arguably the best performance of his season and he will be looking to build upon that in his matchup against Nadal.

Rafa Nadal arrived at this year’s US Open having not played a lot of tennis in the build up. The Spaniard who is looking for his fifth title in New York has had a kind draw where he has been able to ease himself into the tournament. His victories over Hijikata, Fognini and Gasquet have been solid but there have been clear signs of rust in each round. Nadal will have to be at his best to overcome Tiafoe who is clearly in a good run of form. The two have only met twice and Nadal has won on both occasions. They squared off at the 2019 Australian Open and Nadal won in straight sets. I am expecting something similar here.

Round of 16 Tennis Picks at the US Open: Women’s Draw

Zhang Shuai vs Coco Gauff (12)

The twelfth overall seed Coco Gauff takes on the unseeded Zhang Shuai in this fourth round match up. The unseeded player in the tournament has yet to drop a set and is 6-0 in six sets coming into this match. While Gayff has yet to lose a set as well at this point. As both players will be looking for a huge win in this game.

Denis Kirilov

Zhang Shuai has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA. However, her performance in the singles has not been on the same level as her glory in the doubles. Zhang managed to clinch onto two Grand Slams partnering Samantha Stosur, while her best singles results are two Quarter-Finals at Wimbledon and Australian Open. Zhang loves mixing up her game as she tends to play safe most of the time and has become a deadly opponent at the net due to her experience in the doubles. The World No.35 will be determined to further top her peak performance at the US Open with a surprising win over Coco Gauff. 

The hidden home-favorite for the title, Coco Gauff, is making yet another statement this year. Following her winning run in Paris when she was ousted in the Final by Iga Switek, she is now headed to do something special at the US Open as well. The 18-year-old American might want to get some revenge for her loss in last year’s Doubles final when she and Caty McNally were just one set away from writing down their names in the history books. Gauff tends to play aggresive which gives her a slight psychological advantage over her opponent. However, she is also exposed to making several unforced errors when facing a decent defensive player which leans me towards a 3-setter.  

Jack Hartman

The deeper we get into the tournament the more appealing Coco Gauff is starting to look as the overall winner of this tournament. Remarkably this is the furthest that Gauff has got at this tournament and she is looking to reach her first ever quarterfinal at her home grand slam. Make no mistake about it, Gauff will win this tournament one day and it could definitely be as soon as this year. Gauff faced a stern test in the last round but overcame Madison Keys in straight sets due to her consistency and athleticism. Her 6-2 6-3 victory was one of the best performances of her season and she heads into this matchup against Zhang Shai in fantastic form. 

For Zhang this US Open run is her most positive grand slam showing and she is looking to make the quarterfinals of a slam for the very first time. Zhang’s draw has opened up due to the loss of several seeds in the early rounds but she has made the very most of it. Yet to drop a set, her wins over Jill Teichmann, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Rebecca Marino have been impressive but this will be a whole different ball game. The two have met just once before and it came in Miami earlier this season. Gauff won that match in straight sets but the sets were tight. Since then, Gauff has taken her game up a level and I expect her to come through this encounter unscathed. 

Petra Kvitová (21) vs Jessica Pegula (8)

The eighth overall seed Jessica Pegula takes on the 21st seeded Petra Kvitova in this fourth round match up. The number third seeded player in the tournament has dropped one set and is 6-1 in seven sets coming into this match. While Pegula has lost only one set up until this point as well. As both players will be looking for a huge win in this game.

Denis Kirilov

It took quite a lot of time before Jessica Pegula made her breakthrough in tennis. At the age of 26, she reached her maiden Quarter-Final at Australian Open. Ever since then, she has been consistent on the court defending her top 20 ranking and eventually going up to a World No.7. Pegula has defeated many worthy opponents throughout the past year, but Petra Kvitova isn’t one of them. Quite on the contrary, the Czech hasn’t lost a set to the American across their two meetings on hard courts. Pegula is a well-rounded player who has numerous strengths, but first and foremost she is a fan of the aggressive style of play. 

On the other hand, Kvitova isn’t a player with a great technique as she loves using groundstrokes throughout her matches. The Czech is a two-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon and she has now set her eyes on topping her best result at the US Open as well. The tournament in New York is her worst one based on her all-time statistics and maybe this is due to the fact that she puts it all on the court at Wimbledon and nothing is left in the tank for the Flushing Meadows. With both players coming on a decent rhythm for their Fourth Round meet-up, I guess we will see a compelling duel between them that will last slightly less than three hours. Hence, I will go with the option for “Over 2.5 Sets” on Monday. 

Jack Hartman

I won’t hold anything back by saying Jessica Pegula is my favourite player on the WTA Tour and I am delighted she has reached this stage of the tournament. Pegula has had another great year reaching the quarterfinals in both Melbourne and Paris. Her run to this year’s fourth round is her best ever performance in New York and she has a good chance of reaching yet another grand slam quarterfinal. Pegula should arrive at this match fresh as she benefitted from a second round walkover. Her win over Yuan in round 3 did come over three sets but she was able to win the third set 6-0.

It’s great to see Petra Kvitova back in this stage of a grand slam once again. Kvitova knows what it takes to win grand slams as her two Wimbledon titles clearly show. Since recovering from her horrific hand injury Kvitova has only managed to make the quarterfinals of a grand slam twice since 2020. On paper, she is a better player than Pegula who will easily overpower the diminutive American with both her size and power. The key to this match will be whether Kvitova can keep enough balls in play. Too often when I watch the Czech star the ball is being sprayed left and right. Pegula will make Kvitova work and I think she will just wear the two time major winner out. 

Iga Świątek (1) vs Jule Niemeier

The top overall seed Iga Swiatek takes on the unseeded Jule Niemeier in this fourth round match up. The number third seeded player in the tournament has yet to drop a set and is 6-0 in six sets coming into this match. While Pegula has yet to lose a set up until this point as well. As both players will be looking for a huge win in this game.

Denis Kirilov

Iga Swiatek continues her match onto winning her third Grand Slam title. The young Polish has done so only at Roland Garros back in 2020 and this year as well. She equaled her best performance at US Open with reaching the Fourth Round now which didn’t seem to be a tough task at all. Swiatek is probably the toughest and most consistent player on the WTA Tour as she is certainly a top favorite anywhere she plays in 2022. Going on a 37-game winning streak further underlined her dominance during this year. An all-court player who loves playing versatile tennis is what makes her stand out from her opponents. 

On the other hand, Julia Niemeier made her breakthrough this year as she reached top 100 for the first time in her career. Winning her maiden WTA Challenger 125 Makarska title in Croatia back in June gave her a huge boost for the rankings, while reaching the Quarter-Final at Wimbledon certainly made her famous among the tennis world. Niemeier cruised past Anett Kontaveit in the Second Round in London which makes me think that she might have some answers to Swiatek unparalleled groundstrokes. Moreover, the German is yet to lose a set at this year’s US Open after outplaying the likes of Sofia Kenin, Yulia Putintseva, and Qinwen Zheng. My pick will go in favor of Niemeier in his maiden Round of 16 at the US Open. 

Jack Hartman

Iga Swiatek is looking to cap off her stellar year by winning her first US Open. Remarkably this is the farthest that the talented Polish player has ever got and she will be looking to reach her first quarterfinal in New York. After a slightly rocky second half of the season, the world number one looks to have rediscovered some of the form that saw her dominate the first half of the WTA season. Swiatek has enjoyed some of her best results of her career on hard courts and is starting to look at home on the fast flushing meadows surface. She is yet to drop a set throughout the tournament and will be expected to progress easily here. 

Standing in the way of Swiatek reaching her first ever US Open quarterfinal is Jule Niemeier. At 108 in the world the talented young German is a better player than her ranking suggests and would be much higher in the rankings if her run to the Wimbledon semi finals counted. It’s good to see Niemeier back that Wimbledon performance up but this will be a stern test. Niemeier has beaten some tricky opponents in the form of Sophia Kenin, Yulia Putintseva and Qinwen Zheng. It’s impressive that she has emerged from all of these encounters without dropping a set. This will be the first time that these two players would have ever met and Swiatek should advance. Niemeier has the game and serve to hang in against her more illustrious rival and I will back her to win a set, but just fall short.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.