Second round singles action concludes on Thursday in New York, as the women’s doubles draw begin play.
Outside of his loss last week to Carlos Alcaraz due to illness, Jannik Sinner has won his last 27 hard court matches. But on Day 5, he faces a tough second round draw in Alexei Popyrin. The big-serving Australian is one of the highest-ranked players not to be seeded, and a year ago, he upset Novak Djokovic in the third round of this same event.
Thursday also sees two other multi-time Majors champs play considerable opposition. Two days after she barely escaped her opening round, Coco Gauff takes on Olympic silver medalist Donna Vekic. Plus, Naomi Osaka goes up against Hailey Baptiste, who recently reached the second week of Roland Garros, and played a three-hour three-setter against Osaka earlier this year in Miami.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Hailey Baptiste vs. Naomi Osaka (23) – Second on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Five months ago in Miami, after splitting the first two sets, Osaka was down a break in the third, before breaking back and reeling off the last three games of the match to prevail. It was the second extended battle of the season between these two players, as a few months earlier in Auckland, Naomi came from a set down to defeat Hailey in three.
Osaka is now 28-12 on the year, and is coming off the best run she’s had since returning from child birth nearly two years ago. In Montreal, Naomi advanced all the way to the final, defeating three top 20 players, before a disappointing performance in the final against Victoria Mboko. The four-time Major champ won her opening round in straights, as she tries to reach the second week of the US Open for the first time since she last won it in 2020.
Baptiste is a 23-year-old American who achieved her first appearance in the round of 16 at a Major earlier this year in Paris, where she upset 23rd-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round. Hailey has a lot of weapons: a strong serve, powerful and versatile groundstrokes, and good court coverage. Those attributes allowed her to be extremely competitive with Naomi earlier this season. But with Osaka playing her best tennis in some time, she’s the favorite to make it 3-0 against Baptiste.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Alexei Popyrin – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Sinner is now 32-4 during 2025, a year in which he missed three months of action due to his suspension for failing drug tests a year ago. The World No.1 has only played six events this season, yet has advanced to the final of five of them. At the last seven Majors, he’s reached the quarterfinals or better, winning four of them.
Popyrin had quite a summer a year ago, winning his first Masters 1000 title in Canada, where he upset five top 20 players. And just a few weeks later, he took out Djokovic in the third round of the US Open. However, Alexei has a losing record in 2025, though he has regained some confidence again this summer in Canada, where he defeated Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune in his title defense.
The Australian also claimed their only previous meeting, but that took place over four years ago on clay, long before Sinner had become the best player in the world. Popyrin’s imposing serve can complicate matters for almost any player, yet I don’t see him being able to truly bother a healthy and in-form Sinner, especially on a hard court.
Donna Vekic vs. Coco Gauff (3) – Not Before 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Gauff was far from her best self on Tuesday evening, as she continues to battle service and forehand issues. But she displayed plenty of grit in outlasting Ajla Tomljanovic in an almost three-hour opening round. That brought Coco’s 2025 record to 36-12, and to 18-7 on this surface.
Vekic had by far the best season of her career during 2024, achieving her first Major semifinal at Wimbledon, and collecting a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, where she upset Gauff in the round of 16. However, 2025 has been a disappointment for Donna, as she’s dealt with multiple injuries this year, resulting in a record of just 12-19. She was a quarterfinalist here back in 2019, and achieved the fourth round a year ago.
Their only other prior encounter occurred at the beginning of this season in the United Cup, with Coco comfortably prevailing 6-4, 6-2. In their rubber match, a Vekic upset doesn’t feel completely out of the question, as Gauff remains frustrated with the technique changes she is trying to implement. But considering Donna’s current lack of confidence, the American remains a significant favorite.
Amanda Anisimova (8) vs. Maya Joint – Last on Louis Armstrong Stadium
On Tuesday, Anisimova earned her first US Open victory since 2021. Amanda of course took some time away from the sport in recent years to focus on her mental health, and is now enjoying her best season. In addition to reaching her first Major final at The Championships, she claimed her first WTA 1000 title in Doha.
Joint is a 19-year-old Australian who won WTA titles this season on both clay and grass. In May, she was the champion in Rabat, and in June, she was the champion in Eastbourne. On hard courts, her results have been more modest, and as per Tennis Abstract, this is only her second-ever match against a top 10 player, after falling 6-3, 6-0 to Jessica Pegula at this year’s Australian Open.
In their first career meeting, Anisimova should be favored. As impressive as Joint has been during her breakout season, she does not possess quite as much power as the American. Amanda’s formidable serve and backhand should allow her to dictate play.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Suzan Lamens vs. Iga Swiatek (2) – Swiatek collected her 50th match win of the year in the opening round, dropping just three games in her usual fashion. Lamens is a 26-year-old who was the champion in Osaka last fall.
Alexander Zverev (3) vs. Jacob Fearnley – These players have also met twice this year on hard courts, with Zverev taking all five sets they’ve contested.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
