The second round begins on Day 3 in both singles and doubles, with fascinating matchups throughout the day all around the Ariake Tennis Park. Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka are the headliners of this tennis event, and both will again be considerable favorites on Monday. But the most inspirational story of this event is Carla Suarez Navarro, who on Sunday earned her first singles win since announcing she is cancer-free just three months ago. In the second round, she faces Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova. On the men’s side, 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic required an astounding 11 match points to advance in the first round. Now he’ll take on Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, who just a week ago won the biggest title of his career in Hamburg, Germany.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing men’s and women’s matchup, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Karolina Pliskova (5) [CZE] vs. Carla Suarez Navarro [ESP] – Third on Court 3
Suarez Navarro played singles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but went down in three sets during the first round of both events. Yet on Sunday against Ons Jabeur, one of 2021’s best players, Carla earned her first singles victory since coming back from fighting Hodgkin Lymphoma. On Monday, she faces the WTA’s “Ace Queen,” who bounced back nicely from the disappointment of losing her second Major final by winning comfortably on Sunday. Pliskova’s former coach Rennae Stubbs highlighted on NBC’s coverage how Karolina, one of the tallest players on tour, will not mind the high-bouncing conditions on the courts in Tokyo. Their head-to-head has been rather even, with Pliskova holding a slight edge 4-3. However, Karolina has claimed their last three meetings, dating back to 2015. Pliskova’s level can fluctuate from day-to-day, and you certainly don’t want to underestimate the fight of Suarez Navarro, but the fire power of the fifth seed will be tough to overcome.
Pablo Carreno Busta (6) [ESP] vs. Marin Cilic [CRO] – Fourth on Court 1
Carreno Busta may be the seeded player, but he’s never beaten Cilic, who is 4-0 against the Spaniard. Three of those four victories came on hard courts. Marin has struggled in recent years, but rediscovered some strong form a month ago grass. Cilic was the champion in Stuttgart, and was two sets up on Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon before losing in five. Hard courts have not been as friendly to Cilic of late, but Carreno Busta has exceled on this surface. Pablo has reached the semifinals of the US Open twice in the last four years. Both men have previous success representing their countries: Cilic helped Croatia win the Davis Cup in 2018, with Carreno Busta doing the same for Spain a year later. But in tight matches, Pablo has been the far better performer over the last few years, and is a slight favorite to earn his first win over Marin.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Novak Djokovic (1) [SRB] vs. Jan-Lennard Struff [GER] – Djokovic is 5-0 against Struff, dropping only one of 14 sets played.
Naomi Osaka (2) [JPN] vs. Viktorija Golubic [SUI] – Osaka looked pretty sharp in her opening round on Sunday, her first match in 56 days. 28-year-old Golubic was a surprise quarterfinalist earlier this month at Wimbledon.
Daniil Medvedev (2) [ROC] vs. Sumit Nagal [IND] – On Saturday, Nagal became the first Indian man to win a singles match at the Olympics since 1996. Medvedev did not appear to enjoy the heat and humidity during his first round, yet still prevailed in straight sets.
Aryna Sabalenka (3) [BLR] vs. Donna Vekic [CRO] – Sabalenka surrendered only three games in her opening round win. Two years ago on a hard court in San Jose, she defeated Vekic in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek (6) [POL] vs. Paula Badosa [ESP] – Swiatek breezed through her first round match by a score of 6-2, 6-2, but Badosa is an impressive competitor in the midst of a breakout season, with 27 match wins.
Ash Barty and Storm Sanders (6) [AUS] vs. Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang [CHN] – Barty did not perform well in her first round singles loss, committing more than 50 unforced errors. But she and good friend Sanders remain one of the most formidable teams in the women’s doubles draw.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
