Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters will play her first Grand Slam match in eight years.
That same year at this event, Andy Murray won his first Major. Today he will vie for his first win at a Slam since the 2018 US Open. Also on Tuesday, both Williams sisters will be in action, with Venus having a tough draw in a top 20 seed. And the two men who have come closest to ending The Big 3’s reign at the Majors, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, will begin their 2020 US Open campaigns.
Ekaterina Alexandrova (21) vs. Kim Clijsters (WC)
Kim’s retirement came here in 2012 at the hands of Laura Robson, at an event she was champion of three times. Her return began earlier this year, with respectable losses to Garbine Muguruza and Johanna Konta. She then played and impressed last month in World Team Tennis. Kim had to pull out of the Western & Southern Open last week with an abdominal injury, but reportedly should be good to go today. Her opponent is far from an easy draw. 25-year-old Alexandrova was one of the hottest players on tour before the pandemic shutdown. She was the champion in Shenzhen, and a semifinalist in St. Petersburg. However, Ekaterina has a losing record in her career at the Slams. Based on how well Kim was hitting the ball in World Team Tennis, I give the slight edge to the four-time Major singles champion.
Karolina Muchova (20) vs. Venus Williams
Venus is playing in her 22nd US Open singles draw. In her 21 previous appearances, she has never lost in the first round. But with only two wins since last year’s event, she’s unseeded and thus faces a top 30 player in her opening round. Muchova was a quarterfinalist at last year’s Wimbledon, and claimed a hard court title last September in Seoul. Karolina possesses a lot of variety in her game, and may prove to be a frustrating opponent for a rusty Venus. With a lack of recent wins, and the lack of a partisan crowd cheering her own, Venus will need to call upon the fighting spirit she’s so often displayed over her long career to avoid an opening round loss.
Roberto Bautista Agut (8) vs Tennys Sandgren
Bautista Agut was a semifinalist last week, and was just a few points away from handing Novak Djokovic his first loss of the year. The 32-year-old veteran continues to improve his level of play, and is the rare Spaniard that excels on hard courts. Likewise, Sandgren has found success on this surface, having reached the Australian Open quarterfinals two of the last three years. He infamously failed to convert seven match points against Roger Federer this past January in Melbourne. This first round encounter could be grueling, between two players who are prone to long best-of-five matches. Bautista Agut is the favorite to advance, in a tough section of the draw where red-hot Milos Raonic may be waiting in the third round.
Karen Khachanov (11) vs. Jannik Sinner
This is one of the most appetizing first round matchups, featuring two big, up-and-coming ball-strikers. 24-year-old Khachanov had a breakout 2018 season, highlighted by his Masters 1,000 title victory in Bercy. 19-year-old Sinner was the champion at last November’s ATP Next Gen Finals, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final. Their first career meeting today will likely be the first of many to come. The experience of Khachanov should be enough to advance here, as Sinner only has one career match win at a Major. But early in his career, Jannik has already shown off some flashy play mixed with grit, and is capable of the upset to start the day out on Court 8.
Grigor Dimitrov (14) vs. Tommy Paul
This is a rematch from the last Major, when the American claimed this biggest victory of his career. On that day, Paul let a two-set lead slip away, but managed to persevere and win in a fifth set tiebreak. That was on the heels of an impressive fall on the Challenger circuit, where Tommy accumulated 17 match wins from September to November. Dimitrov was a semifinalist here a year ago, but is just 8-6 this season. And Grigor battled COVID-19 earlier this summer, derailing his training for a significant amount of time. Dimitrov received some unfair blame for the spread of the virus amidst the mess that was the Adria Tour. In a match that feels like it could go either way, Dimitrov’s eagerness to avenge his previous loss, and to show that he’s fully recovered from the virus, may be the deciding factors.
Other Notable Matches on Day 2:
23-time Major champion Serena Williams (3) vs. Kristie Ahn, who made a surprise run to the fourth round here a year ago.
2012 champion Andy Murray vs. Yoshihito Nishioka, who has not played a match since February.
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin (2) vs. Yanina Wickmayer, who reached the US Open semifinals back in 2009.
Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem (2) vs. Jaume Munar, a 23-year-old from Spain ranked outside the top 100. Thiem lost in the first round of the US Open a year ago, as well as his opening match last week.
Last year’s finalist, who became the villain of the fortnight, Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Federico Delbonis, a 29-year-old veteran who has only won four hard court matches at Majors in his career.
Order of play (All times local, -5 hours from BST)
Arthur Ashe Stadium
From 12:00pm:
Andy Murray (Gbr) v Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn)
Kristie Ahn (USA) v (3) Serena Williams (USA)
Not before 19:00pm
(20) Karolina Muchova (Cze) v Venus Williams (USA)
Federico Delbonis (Arg) v (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus)
Louis Armstrong Stadium
From 11:00pm:
Nao Hibino (Jpn) v (10) Garbine Muguruza (Spa)
Jaume Munar (Spa) v (2) Dominic Thiem (Aut)
Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) v (2) Sofia Kenin (USA)
(7) Madison Keys (USA) v Timea Babos (Hun)
(14) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) v Tommy Paul (USA)
Court 4
11:00:
MacKenzie McDonald (USA) v (30) Casper Ruud (Nor)
Lauren Davis (USA) v Alize Cornet (Fra)
Corentin Moutet (Fra) v Jiri Vesely (Cze)
Salvatore Caruso (Ita) v James Duckworth (Aus)
(15) Maria Sakkari (Gre) v Stefanie Voegele (Swi)
Court 5
11:00: (16) Elise Mertens (Bel) v Laura Siegemund (Ger)
Heather Watson (Gbr) v (9) Johanna Konta (Gbr)
Thiago Seyboth Wild (Bra) v (23) Daniel Evans (Gbr)
Victoria Azarenka (Blr) v Barbara Haas (Aut)
Frances Tiafoe (USA) v Andreas Seppi (Ita)
Court 6
11:00:
Andrey Kuznetsov (Rus) v Sam Querrey (USA)
Claire Liu (USA) v Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spa)
Feliciano Lopez (Spa) v Roberto Carballes Baena (Spa)
Ivo Karlovic (Cro) v Richard Gasquet (Fra)
(18) Donna Vekic (Cro) v Kristyna Pliskova (Cze)
Court 7
11:00:
Sorana Cirstea (Rom) v Christina McHale (USA)
(31) Marin Cilic (Cro) v Denis Kudla (USA)
Katerina Siniakova (Cze) v Kaia Kanepi (Est)
(5) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) v Oceane Dodin (Fra)
John Millman (Aus) v (22) Nikoloz Basilashvili (Geo)
Court 8
11:00:
Jannik Sinner (Ita) v (11) Karen Khachanov (Rus)
Vera Zvonareva (Rus) v Leylah Annie Fernandez (Can)
Christopher O’Connell (Aus) v Laslo Djere (Ser)
Viktoria Kuzmova (Svk) v Catherine McNally (USA)
Sachia Vickery (USA) v Taylor Townsend (USA)
Court 9
11:00:
Margarita Gasparyan (Rus) v Monica Puig (Pur)
Norbert Gombos (Svk) v Radu Albot (Mol)
Anna Kalinskaya (Rus) v Nina Stojanovic (Ser)
Marcel Granollers (Spa) v Kamil Majchrzak (Pol)
Bernarda Pera (USA) v Zarina Diyas (Kaz)
Court 11
11:00:
Ysaline Bonaventure (Bel) v (25) Shuai Zhang (Chn)
Jeremy Chardy (Fra) v (10) Andrey Rublev (Rus)
(8) Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) v Tennys Sandgren (USA)
(21) Alex De Minaur (Aus) v Andrej Martin (Svk)
Kim Clijsters (Bel) v (21) Ekaterina Alexandrova (Rus)
Court 12
11:00:
Sumit Nagal (Ind) v Bradley Klahn (USA)
Taro Daniel (Jpn) v Gregoire Barrere (Fra)
(27) Ons Jabeur (Tun) v Katarzyna Kawa (Pol)
Iga Swiatek (Pol) v (29) Veronika Kudermetova (Rus)
Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) v Ugo Humbert (Fra)
Court 14
11:00:
Emil Ruusuvuori (Fin) v Aljaz Bedene (Slo)
Vasek Pospisil (Can) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger)
Jil Belen Teichmann (Swi) v Aliona Bolsova (Spa)
Gianluca Mager (Ita) v Miomir Kecmanovic (Ser)
Vitalia Diatchenko (Rus) v Olga Govortsova (Blr)
Court 15
11:00:
Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) v Ludmilla Samsonova (Rus)
Natalia Vikhlyantseva (Rus) v Katrina Scott (USA)
(29) Guido Pella (Arg) v Jeffrey John Wolf (USA)
Marton Fucsovics (Hun) v Hugo Dellien (Bol)
Patricia Maria Tig (Rom) v Kurumi Nara (Jpn)
Court 17
11:00:
Viktoriya Tomova (Bul) v (22) Amanda Anisimova (USA)
(15) Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can) v Thiago Moura Monteiro (Bra)
Leonardo Mayer (Arg) v (25) Milos Raonic (Can)
(26) Sloane Stephens (USA) v Mihaela Buzarnescu (Rom)
(6) Matteo Berrettini (Ita) v Go Soeda (Jpn)