The Round of 64 at the U.S. Open gets underway on September 3 in New York, with five featured hard-court matches placing several top-15 seeds against a mix of familiar rivals and new challengers. Rankings, historical head-to-head records, and scheduling all shape the expectations heading into a busy afternoon and evening on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Karen Khachanov - Round of 64

Scheduled for approximately 2:00 PM EDT.

This matchup arrives completely deadlocked, with each player holding two wins in four prior meetings. The four known results reveal a closely contested rivalry: Auger-Aliassime, ranked 4th, has wins over Khachanov at the Western and Southern Open and the Libema Open, both in straight sets or three sets, while Khachanov, ranked 15th, responded with victories at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal and the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. The most recent meeting went to Khachanov in three sets in Montreal, giving him the last word. Despite the ranking gap favoring Auger-Aliassime by 11 places, the head-to-head offers no clear dominant force. No odds are available to further sharpen expectations. Given the split record and Khachanov's edge in the most recent encounter, this shapes up as the day's most genuinely uncertain contest.

Prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets.

Taylor Fritz vs. Mattia Bellucci - Round of 64

Scheduled for approximately 4:00 PM EDT.

Fritz, ranked 9th, holds a 1-0 head-to-head advantage over Bellucci, ranked 78th, with that single meeting taking place at the Boss Open in Stuttgart. Fritz won that quarterfinal encounter 5-7, 7-5, 7-5, rallying from a set down to take the match in three. That result suggests Bellucci is capable of competing but ultimately could not close it out when Fritz raised his level. The ranking gap of 69 places is substantial, and the prior result reinforces Fritz as a clear favorite on paper. No odds are available, but the combination of ranking and head-to-head history points firmly in Fritz's direction. Bellucci will need to improve on his Stuttgart showing to pull off an upset here.

Prediction: Taylor Fritz in three sets.

Tristan Schoolkate vs. Flavio Cobolli - Round of 64

Scheduled for approximately 5:00 PM EDT.

This is a first-time meeting between Schoolkate, ranked 123rd, and Cobolli, ranked 10th. With no prior head-to-head results and no odds to reference, the most straightforward indicator is the significant ranking gap of 113 places. Cobolli enters as a comfortable favorite on paper simply by virtue of his standing among the top-10 players in the world, while Schoolkate will be looking to cause an upset against a higher-ranked opponent. There is no further data available to complicate or enrich that picture.

Prediction: Flavio Cobolli in three sets.

Botic Van De Zandschulp vs. Alex De Minaur - Round of 64

Scheduled for approximately 7:30 PM EDT.

De Minaur holds a perfect 4-0 record over Van De Zandschulp, and the margins across those meetings have been consistently decisive. The four known results include victories at the Australian Open, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, and a Davis Cup rubber, the last of which underlines just how broad the contexts of De Minaur's dominance have been. De Minaur, ranked 6th, has never dropped a set against Van De Zandschulp, ranked 55th, across the three ATP results on record, though the Rotterdam quarterfinal did require a three-set comeback. The head-to-head is as one-sided as any featured today, and the ranking gap of 49 places reinforces De Minaur's status as a heavy favorite even without odds available.

Prediction: Alex De Minaur in three sets.

Alexander Zverev vs. Quentin Halys - Round of 64

Zverev, ranked 3rd, has won both prior meetings against Halys, ranked 92nd, without dropping a set in either. The two encounters took place at the Miami Open, where Zverev won a tight pair of tiebreak sets 7-6(4), 7-6(1) in the Round of 16, and at the French Open, where Zverev was more dominant in a 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory in the Round of 32. A ranking gap of 89 places and a clean 2-0 head-to-head record make Zverev the clear favorite. No scheduled time is available for this match, and no odds are on offer, but the data consistently points in one direction.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev in three sets.