Seven years ago, on an extremely hot and humid day in New York, Kei Nishikori upset Novak Djokovic in four sets, preventing Novak from reaching the final. If not for that surprising defeat, perhaps Djokovic would already have 21 Majors. At the time, that victory brought Kei’s record against Novak to 2-1. Today, it stands at 17-2 Djokovic. Novak has brought pain and misery upon Kei ever since that match. Can Nishikori turn this rivalry around?
Saturday afternoon also sees a young Italian sensation, Jannik Sinner, facing a resurgent crowd favorite, Gael Monfils. In addition, there are several big WTA matchups, featuring Major champions like Petra Kvitova and Iga Swiatek. The evening session will include World No.1 Ash Barty, as well as Olympic gold medalist Sascha Zverev.
Each day, this preview will analyze the five most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Petra Kvitova (10) vs. Maria Sakkari (17) – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
This will be their sixth meeting since March of 2019, with Kvitova leading 3-2. In their only match this year, on clay in Stuttgart, Sakkari prevailed in three sets. These players have almost identical records on the season: Sakkari is 28-14, while Kvitova is 26-14. The Greek was playing excellently until her Roland Garros heartbreak, where she lost in the semifinals despite holding a match point over eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova. Since leaving Paris, she’s only 7-4. Kvitova won the title in Doha six months ago, but has only reached one semifinal since. Neither woman has a dropped a set through two rounds. There is not much to separate these two, except the conditions. The fast courts and cooler temperatures are exactly what Kvitova prefers, and it feels like she’s due for a good result at a Major.
Belinda Bencic (11) vs. Jessica Pegula (23) – Second on Louis Armstrong Stadium
This is a rematch from the opening round of the Tokyo Olympics, which of course Bencic won, on her way to the gold medal. That match started an 11-1 streak for Belinda, who has described still getting great joy from, and not quite believing, she’s a gold medalist. That has seemed to release a lot of stress from her game. Pegula is having the season of her life, with the help of Venus Williams’ longtime coach David Witt. The American has 31 wins in 2021, and recently advanced to the semifinals in Montreal. But based on their recent matchup, and Belinda’s current confidence level, Belinda is the favorite.
Iga Swiatek (7) vs. Anett Kontaveit (28) – Second on Grandstand
Swiatek’s recovery in the second round was most impressive. After going down a set and a break to Fiona Ferro, Iga knelt by her chair and started crying. The emotional release seemed to help her relax, as she fought her way back to take the second set in a tiebreak, before running away with the third 6-0. But this is going to be another tough test for last year’s French Open champion, as Kontaveit is 7-0 since teaming up with Dmitry Tursunov. Kontaveit won the title last week in Cleveland, and has only allowed opponents eight games through four sets this week. When Anett’s groundstrokes are on, she can rack up a lot of winners. With Swiatek only 3-2 on hard courts this summer, and with Kontaveit claiming their two prior hard court encounters, this match has the potential for an upset.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Kei Nishikori – Not Before 1:30pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
To answer the question from earlier, it seems highly unlikely Nishikori is ready to turn this rivalry around. He has now lost 16 consecutive matches to the World No.1, and has won only two of their last 22 sets. And while Djokovic is coming off a straight-set victory on Thursday, Kei required five sets to overcome Mackie McDonald in an exhausting battle. Without the weapons required to challenge Novak, this would seem to be another straightforward win for Djokovic, who only needs five more to complete the Grand Slam.
Jannik Sinner (13) vs. Gael Monfils (17) – Third on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Prior to the pandemic, Monfils was on fire. In February of 2020, he won consecutive titles, and then reached the semifinals of Dubai. But following the pandemic restart a year ago, he went on a seven-match losing streak, and lost 14 of 17 matches overall. That changed last month in Toronto, as Monfils has now won back-to-back matches at three consecutive events. When asked why he has started winning again, Gael explained there is only one reason: the crowd. This is a player who loves to entertain, and suffered from the lack of an audience for much of the past year. During that same span where Monfils struggled, Sinner thrived, winning his first three ATP titles, including one earlier this summer in Washington. The 20-year-old is now 32-16 on the year. They’ve played twice, with both matches coming in consecutive weeks during October of 2019, and with each prevailing once. In front of what will be a packed, midday crowd on Louis Armstrong, I suspect the Frenchman will be fully motivated, and use all his speed, power, and sizzle to propel himself to victory.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Bianca Andreescu (6) vs. Greet Minnen (LL) – The 2019 champion remains undefeated at this tournament. Minnen is a 24-year-old from Belgium who lost in the last round of qualifying, but replaced Jelena Ostapenko in the draw.
Matteo Berrettini (6) vs. Ilya Ivashka – Berrettini arrived in New York still hampered by the leg injury he suffered at Wimbledon, yet is appearing healthier match-by-match. Ivashka is a 27-year-old from Belarus having the best season of his career, and won his first ATP title last week in Winston-Salem. Ilya has now won eight matches in a row. However, in the round of 16 at this year’s Wimbledon, Matteo beat him in straight sets.
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs. Emma Raducanu (Q) – 18-year-old Raducanu is looking to reach the fourth round at her second consecutive Major, in what is also her second career appearance at a Major. Sorribes Tormo has already defeated two tricky opponents in Karolina Muchova and Su-Wei Hsieh without dropping a set.
Ash Barty (1) vs, Shelby Rogers – The American was a quarterfinalist here a year ago. However, she is 0-5 against Barty, with four of those losses coming this year.
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Jack Sock (WC) – The 28-year-old American was ranked 389th in the world a year ago, but is showing signs of his previous form, especially in a five-set win on Thursday over Alexander Bublik. He’s 1-2 against Zverev, who is on a 13-match win streak, and has soundly defeated his two opponents this week.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.