Tennis
2026-09-04 - Yibing Wu vs Carlos Alcaraz
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : US Open Tennis Third Round
Friday 4th September 2026 - Scheduled 1pm EST
6pm (British Time)
Preview
It is never going to be easy facing someone who has such a big game as Jaime Faria and Yibing Wu will know exactly how Carlos Alcaraz was feeling seeing as he lost a Second Qualifying Round match against Faria at the Cincinnati Masters.
The defending Champion took a bit of time to find his feet, but he cruised through the next three sets having dropped the opener and Carlos Alcaraz looks about as good as could be hoped after the long layoff from the Tour.
He will also be pretty happy that this little section of the draw has opened up and Carlos Alcaraz is going to be a big favourite to win this Third Round match. Playing at a high level at a Grand Slam event is something we have become very accustomed to seeing from the Spaniard and he has won the last two hard court Majors and that will give Alcaraz real aura any time he steps onto the court.
Yibing Wu has won back to back matches in straight sets, which will have given him a huge amount of confidence, although he will note that this is a significantly tougher challenge than those faced in the previous two Rounds. Neither opponent beaten has been Ranked inside the top 70, although both above Wu himself, and now the World Number 113 has to step up and take on a multiple time Slam Winner.
He had shown little form ahead of the US Open with a Second Round run in a Challenger event and then failing to Qualify for the Cincinnati Masters. An opening Round defeat in Winston Salem has just underlined where Yibing Wu is with his tennis and it is going to take a special effort to keep this one competitive.
Some heart can be taken from the fact that Yibing Wu pushed Carlos Alcaraz when they met at the Shanghai Masters in 2024, but there will be a different intensity about meeting the World Number 3 in a Grand Slam event.
Yibing Wu has struggled to earn breaks of serve when facing some of the top players on the Tour on the hard courts and his own serve. has not been nearly as effective as he would have hoped.
Over this format, you have to believe Carlos Alcaraz can turn the screw as he has been able to do in the Second Round and he may just find the breaks needed to secure a cover of this handicap mark set.
Prediction
The defending Champion will have to deal with different conditions as he is scheduled to play during the day in the Third Round, but Carlos Alcaraz has seen it all already in his career and can come through with another solid victory behind him.
The Pick :
Yibing Wu 0-3 Carlos Alcaraz
