After a wicked Wednesday at the US Open, which saw almost every remaining player in the singles draw take the court, we’re back on schedule with 32 singles matches on the docket for Thursday.
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Sorana Cirstea
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The surprise French Open champion starts off the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium. She followed up that shocking achievement with an impressive fortnight at SW19, advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. However, Ostapenko lost both matches she played in the summer hard court warm-ups. Will Jelena struggle as per her recent form, or build upon her current 12-1 run at majors? Her opponent was once thought to be a future champion, but that was almost a decade ago. Sorana Cirstea has dealt with injuries and struggled to regain her form since a breakout season in 2009, when she reached the French Open quarterfinals. But this has been Cirstea’s best season at the majors since 2009. This may be a good chance for Cirstea to re-establish herself against a struggling youngster.
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Andrey Rublev
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Next up on Armstrong will be Grigor Dimitrov, fresh off the biggest title of his career just two weeks ago in Cincinnati. He looked strong in his opener on Wednesday, and he may need to be against 19-year-old Andrey Rublev. The Russian won his first career title earlier this summer on the clay of Umag. He’s yet to be past the second round at a major, but that appears to be just a matter of time. This could be a good indication of just how serious a contender for the title Dimitrov is.
Dominic Thiem vs. Taylor Fritz
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Louis Armstrong may be the best bet on Thursday, as this next match is also scheduled for the temporary stadium. Thiem is number four in the Race to London rankings, mostly due to his strong clay court results. Since his run to the Roland Garros semifinals, he’s only 8-6. He’s also never been past the fourth round at a non-clay major. Will that change in this wide open draw? Thiem also continues to play almost every week of the tennis season, so he must be worn out by this time of year. Fritz got his first career match win at a major just yesterday, but the 19-year-old has shown signs at smaller tournaments of bigger things to come. This could be a dangerous match for a tired Thiem.
Order of play
