Denis Shapovalov advanced to the third round at the 2017 Us Open on Wednesday night. The teenager, who is making his Flushing Meadows debut this season, defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. The result follows up Shapovalov's run to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup earlier this summer. Furthermore, the Canadian has now won five matches at the 2017 US Open, including three in the qualifying tournament.

Shapovalov will face Edmund next

Next up for Shapovalov is Kyle Edmund, a 22-year old player that is Britain's best hope for success in New York this year following the withdrawal of Andy Murray.

Edmund is not known for doing well in majors however he did make the fourth round of last year's US Open for what remains his best Grand Slam result. In the second round, Edmund defeated American-player Steve Johnson in three sets in what was a strong win for the Brit. Edmund is also in Flushing Meadows in decent form as he did well last week in Winston-Salem.

The youth of each player is relevant as each enters the third round of New York following a lot of recent matches. Shapovalov will be contesting his 6th match in the last week and a bit. Meanwhile, Edmund had to qualify for the Winston-Salem draw last. He played seven matches in the American south in making the main draw of that tournament's semifinals.

Add the matches he has played in New York recently, and the Brit will be playing his 10th match in less than two weeks. That's a condensed schedule for both players, meaning fitness could be as much a factor in the outcome of their next match as skill.

Shapovalov more proven

But regarding the latter, Shapovalov had victories over Rafael Nadal and Tsonga this month.

When you look at Edmund's season, then you find nothing that compares to that. Players in the top 20 are often Edmund's stop sign in draws, noting losses this season to Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic, Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils, Grigor Dimitrov, and many other solid players. Shapovalov himself is not a top-20 player yet, but the Canadian isn't an easy out for them.

He should handle Edmund, a player that hasn't risen too high on tour yet.

These two players are alive in a section of the draw that also has Nicolas Mahut and Pablo Carreno-Busta alive. One of those players or one of Edmund/Shapovalov will make the Flushing Meadows quarters this season. Mahut will likely be the odd player out in that quarter while Carreno-Busta has never won a fourth-round match in any major contested on the hard-court surface. This section of the draw is wide open, and a spot in the semifinals might be possible as well.

After all, Marin Cilic is the top seed in this quarter, and he has not yet been tested by a quality player following his return from injury. If Cilic is below par then a spot in the semifinals, or even the final, is not off the table for any in-form player on the bottom half of the draw.
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