By Mike McIntyre

The third round will finish off play today at the U.S. Open leaving us with 16 competitors in the draw. So far all of the favorites still exist on the men's side with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray all looking strong. Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling are also still in the mix.

Here is a quick peak at some of the matches coming up today:

Nadal will take on Frenchman Gilles Simon. Gotta give props to France for having so many talented players in the top 50 on the ATP Tour at the moment. Simon is trying to rediscover his hardcourt form that led him to wins over both Nadal and Federer back in 2008. It's a different story in 2010 and I don't expect him to challenge Nadal. We're going with the Spaniard in three sets.

Feliciano Lopez the 23rd seed is up against Sergiy Stakhovsky with the winner to likely face Nadal. Stakhovsky just won the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven a week ago and comes in with great momentum. Lopez is inconsistent and his backhand is notoriously weak. Stakhovsky in four sets.

In an all-Spanish battle, the feisty David Ferrer will face countryman Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Ferrer made the semi's in New York in 2007 and his experience and determination will carry him through to the next round in four sets.

In what Brad Gilbert labeled a "popcorn" match on his Twitter account, David Nalbandian will face Fernando Verdasco. While Nalbandian has had a great summer he has struggled a bit lately and spent more time on court than Verdasco this summer. I wonder if he has enough gas left in the tank for this match. Verdasco only dropped five games in his last match and I expect him to come through against Nalbandian today in four sets. 

Fourth seeded Andy Murray is my pick to make it to the finals and will advance easily today against Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland. Three sets and expect a much tougher match against the next Swiss opponent I predict he will face.

American Sam Querrey will have the crowd behind him as he faces Nicolas Almagro today. Almagro is more known for his clay-court prowess but he hits a hard ball. Querrey should win this match but I've yet to see him have his Grand Slam breakthrough. If he does not win today his toughness in big matches will continue to be questioned. I'm gonna go with Almagro in five.

Another American, John Isner will take his big serve against Mikhail Youzhny the 12th seed from Russia. Youzhny can play top-ten tennis if he puts his mind to it and with Isner just returning from an ankle injury I see the Russian advancing in four sets. 

The last match on the men's side today has veteran Tommy Robredo against serve and volley whiz Michael Llodraw. This is a great opportunity for either of these players to make the fourth round of a major. Robredo is the more consistent of the two although the chips could fall either way. I'll take Tommy in five sets.