On Wednesday night, Serena Williams played a level of tennis we have not seen from her in well over a year. She looked like the Serena of old during her three-set victory over second-seeded Anett Kontaveit. On Friday night, can she maintain that level against Ajla Tomljanovic?
Friday’s schedule boasts several blockbuster third round encounters. Three-time Major champion Andy Murray will take on Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. And two American Slam finalists will collide when Coco Gauff faces Madison Keys.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Andy Murray vs. Matteo Berrettini (13) – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
They have met three times within the past three years. In 2019 in Beijing, Murray was victorious after two tiebreaks. Last year at Queen’s Club, Berrettini prevailed in straight sets. And this past June in the final of Stuttgart, Matteo won again, this time in three sets. So the Italian’s wins have come on grass, while the Brit’s win came on a hard court. Murray is 22-14 in 2022 at tour level, but only twice has he taken more than two matches in a row, which he’s looking to do on Friday. Berrettini’s year has been interrupted by injuries as well as COVID, and he went 0-2 this summer on hard courts before this event. Yet his serve and forehand combo will be tough for Murray to overcome on these fast courts. And Andy has been struggling with his conditioning in warmer conditions. In the best-of-five format, Matteo should be favored to reach the fourth round of the US Open for the fourth consecutive year.
Madison Keys (20) vs. Coco Gauff (12) – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Their only previous meeting occurred at the beginning of this year in the semifinals of Adelaide, a match which Keys claimed 7-5 in the third. On a similarly fast court in New York, Madison is again the favorite. And she’s coming off a run to the semifinals two weeks ago in Cincinnati. Gauff made two quarterfinals this summer on hard courts, but as many have pointed out, her extreme-grip forehand is not ideal for quick courts. Accordingly, Coco has never advanced beyond the third round of the US Open. That is unlikely to change against a confident Keys.
Ajla Tomljanovic vs. Serena Williams – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Tomjlanovic has achieved the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in both of the last two years. And she comes into this tournament in good form, having won nine matches on hard courts this summer. But she does not possess any weapons that should be able to threaten Serena. The big question in this match is if Serena can replicate her form from Wednesday. If her serve is still clicking, and she’s still moving well around the court, she should be able to extend her presumed last tournament by one more match. And if Serena is struggling, the New York crowd will again do everything in their power to lift her.
Bianca Andreescu vs. Caroline Garcia (17) – 7:00pm on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Andreescu overcame one of the WTA’s hottest players in the last round, Beatriz Haddad Maia. And that was an impressive win considering Bianca’s continued injury struggles ahead of this event. But now she faces another of the WTA’s most in-form players. Garcia is currently on a 10-match win streak, as she came through qualifying to win Cincinnati two weeks ago. And a few weeks before that, she was the champion on clay on Warsaw. They met a few months ago in the final of Bad Homburg on grass, with Caroline winning 6-4 in the third. Considering her current form, Garcia is the favorite to prevail again on Friday night.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Ons Jabeur (5) vs. Shelby Rogers (31) – Jabeur is now 40-13 on the year, but has lost in this round of the US Open in each of the last three years. Rogers upset top-seeded Ash Barty a year ago in a third-set tiebreak, and has reached the second week of this event two years in a row. They last met three years ago in Cincinnati qualifying, where Ons prevailed in a third-set tiebreak.
Tommy Paul (29) vs. Casper Ruud (5) – Paul has already survived two five-setters. Ruud has only dropped one set through two rounds. Casper leads their head-to-head 2-1, though all three of their encounters have been extended battles.
Karen Khachanov (27) vs. Jack Draper – Khachanov is only 28-20 this season, and has never advanced beyond this round at the US Open. Draper upset Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday night in straight sets, and the 20-year-old has seen his ranking improve this year by over 200 spots.
Pablo Carreno Busta (12) vs. Alex de Minaur (18) – Carreno Busta is a two-time semifinalist in New York, and earned his first Masters 1000 title last month in Montreal. De Minaur has a strong record of 36-19 in 2022, and has achieved the fourth round at two Majors this year. When they played three years ago at Roland Garros, Pablo comfortably prevailed in straight sets.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Yibing Wu (Q) – The defending champion is yet to drop a set. Yibing is the first Chinese man to win a match at a Major in 63 years, and the 22-year-old is 32-4 at all levels this season.
Nick Kyrgios (23) vs. J.J. Wolf (WC) – Kyrgios is 0-4 in the third round of the US Open. Wolf is a 23-year-old American who also reached the third round in New York two years ago.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
