Third round singles action concludes on Saturday in New York.
The top seeds in the men’s and women’s singles draws both play their third round matches on Saturday, as Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner vie for their second Major titles of the year. 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev is also in action, against surging Italian Flavio Cobolli. And Italian No.1 Jasmine Paolini takes on this summer’s upset queen, Yulia Putintseva.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Yulia Putintseva (30) vs. Jasmine Paolini (5) – 11:00am on Louis Armstrong Stadium
This is one of the more diminutive matches you will see on tour, but don’t be fooled: these are two aggressive ball strikers who both possess formidable power in their groundstrokes. Paolini’s breakout season continues to marvel, after outlasting Bianca Andreescu in the first round, and unfortunately only playing three points against Karolina Pliskova in the second round, before the 2016 runner-up was forced to retire due to injury.
Putintseva has enjoyed a great summer, where she’s won the title in Birmingham, defeated Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, and then defeated Coco Gauff in Cincinnati. Yulia didn’t drop a set in her first two matches, and is a three-time Major quarterfinalist, including here in 2020.
Their only prior encounter occurred three years ago in Potoroz on a hard court, when Jasmine won their semifinal in three sets, and went on to claim her first WTA title. I favor Paolini again on Saturday, though this should be a tight affair decided by just a few key points.
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Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Christopher O’Connell – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium
After dropping the first set of his opening match, Sinner has comfortably taken his last six, losing only 11 games in the process. He picked up his 50th win of the year on Thursday, as he aims to reach the second week of his sixth consecutive Major.
O’Connell is a 30-year-old Australian who was ranked as high as 53rd in the world a year ago, and is into the third round of a Major for the third time in as many years, though he’s yet to advance farther. He reached the round of 16 this past March in Miami, and won each of his first two matches this week in four sets. Christopher owns a stylish and effective one-handed backhand.
O’Connell also owns a victory over Sinner, having defeated him three years ago in Atlanta. When they met again this year in Miami, Jannik evened their head-to-head. The World No.1 will be a heavy favorite to prevail again on Saturday, especially since (as per Tennis Abstract) Christopher is 0-8 lifetime against top 10 opposition.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (25) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Swiatek is now 57-7 on the year, after an on-brand straight-set victory in the last round where she lost only one game. But the third round has been a bit of a stumbling block for Iga this year at the Majors. In Melbourne, she was upset by Linda Noskova in this round. In London, she was upset by the aforementioned Putintseva. Swiatek though has successfully reached the fourth round in each of her last three appearances in New York, including in 2022 when she won the title.
Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the final of Roland Garros in the only year out of the last five that Swiatek failed to. Unfortunately Anastasia missed most of 2022 due to injury, and after re-working her way back into form in 2023, is now 27-18 in 2024. She was a quarterfinalist here all the way back in 2011, but has just once gone beyond the third round since that time.
They’ve only played once, and it was complete domination by Swiatek, who won 6-0, 6-0 last May in Rome. However, that was shortly into Pavlyuchenkova’s comeback from injury. I expect a much closer contest on Saturday evening, as Anastasia’s flat, penetrating groundies can successfully take time away from the World No.1 on this surface. Yet Iga still must be favored in this third round matchup.
Flavio Cobolli (31) vs. Daniil Medvedev (5) – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Medvedev arrived in New York on a three-match losing streak, which was startling considering his last two events were Masters 1000 tournaments on hard courts. As per Jim Courier, Daniil has been dealing with an undisclosed physical issue that has been impacting his service motion. But the 2021 champ has still only dropped one set to this stage, and he’s reached the second week at the first three Majors this season.
Cobolli is a 22-year-old Italian who started the year ranked 100th in the world, yet is now on the verge of debuting inside the top 30. He’s accumulated 38 match wins at all levels, and was the runner-up last month in Washington. Flavio has claimed a pair of four-setters during this week, as he plays for his first appearance in the round of 16 at a Major.
Of course Medvedev is the favorite in this first-time matchup, but this could be a tricky draw. Cobolli’s idol is Novak Djokovic, and his playing style reflects that, with a more defensive approach paired with some flashy shot-making. An upset late on Saturday night in front of a raucous New York City crowd is not unfathomable, especially if Flavio embraces the atmosphere.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
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Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs. Jessica Pegula (6) – Pegula is coming off a title run in Toronto and a finalist run in Cincinnati, as she looks to reach the second week in New York for the third consecutive year. Bouzas Maneiro is a 21-year-old from Spain who also advanced to the third round of Wimbledon by upsetting defending champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Botic van de Zandschulp vs. Jack Draper (25) – Draper was expected to face Carlos Alcaraz in this round, but van de Zandschulp shocked the tennis world by upsetting the four-time Major champ in straight sets. In a now very open quarter of the draw, this is a huge opportunity for a player to become a first-time Major semifinalist.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
