US Open Day 4 Preview: Five Must-See Matches

Only nine of 32 singles matches were decided yesterday, meaning we have 55 second round singles matches to be played on Thursday.  The outer courts will be overflowing with quality matchups, some of which were previewed yesterday here.  Today we’ll focus on the day’s most intriguing matchups on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong.  And the best news? The forecast is warm and sunny.

Naomi Osaka (1) vs. Magda Linette

Osaka did not play her best in the opening round, but upped her level enough to oust Anna Blinkova in three.  But today she faces a hot player with a lot of confidence. Linette just won her first WTA title last week at the inaugural Bronx Open, storming through qualifying to win eight matches in nine days.  And while Osaka defeated Linette at this year’s Australian Open, Magda prevailed when they played last summer in Washington. Linette is a strong defensive player, so Osaka will need to stay on the offense and manage her unforced error count.  The defending champion still had her knee wrapped up on Tuesday, but it did not appear to be a significant factor. This is a dangerous second round draw, but I expect Osaka to improve her game today and advance.

Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (WC)

With four top 10 seeds already gone in Nadal’s half of the draw, Rafa is now an even heavier favorite to return to the US Open final.  Today he’ll face Australian opposition for the second straight round. As Nick McCarvel highlighted on Twitter, the 23-year-old Australian earned his first win at a Major in over four years on Tuesday.  It’s been an extremely challenging few seasons for Kokkinakis, a promising young player who has suffered from injuries to the point where he considered retiring from the sport. I’m sure he’ll embrace this opportunity to face an all-time great on tennis’ biggest stadium.  They met at the 2014 Australian Open with Nadal prevailing in straight sets, though Thanasi was a 17-year-old wild card at the time. Kokkinakis has shown he’s capable of competing with the game’s best, as he upset Roger Federer in Miami last year. I think Thanasi will make this competitive and compelling, but Rafa is certainly favored.

Sascha Zverev (6) vs. Frances Tiafoe

These are two ATP Next Gen players who have been in significant slumps of late.  Since Tiafoe’s Grand Slam breakthrough at the Australian Open in January, he’s a meek 14-17.  And he’s just 2-5 in his career at the US Open, and his win on Tuesday was thanks to an Ivo Karlovic retirement.  This Slam has also been a troubling event for Zverev, who was just 4-4 in New York prior to this year. Sascha has been playing some subpar tennis in recent months, with his serve remaining particularly troubling.  He’s admitted to being distracted by off-court issues since winning the ATP Finals last November. Zverev leads their head-to-head 3-1, though Tiafoe’s victory was in their only match played in the US, two years ago in Cincinnati.  After watching how Sascha barely survived a five-setter in the last round, I suspect Tiafoe will be the victor today, especially with the New York crowd behind him.

Timea Babos (Q) vs. Coco Gauff (WC)

The 15-year-old American continues to amaze.  In front of a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium two days ago, Coco came back from a set down to defeat Anastasia Potapova, another impressive young talent.  And now Gauff draws a qualifier in the second round, in seemingly a winnable match. But Babos is far from a pushover. As a qualifier, she’s already accumulated four wins over the past 10 days.  She’s currently a part of the top-seeded team in the women’s doubles event, and has reached the quarterfinals or better in doubles at all of the last eight Majors. While that success hasn’t translated over to the singles court, she did reach the third round here three years ago.  However, I think Cocomania will continue to run wild in Flushing Meadows. Gauff showed on Tuesday, as she did at Wimbledon last month, her ability to find a way to win even when her best tennis is eluding her.

Caroline Wozniacki (19) vs. Danielle Collins

This is a huge contrast in styles, between the defensive Wozniacki and the ultra-offensive Collins.  The 25-year-old American was a hugely surprising semifinalist in Australia this year. But Collins owns a losing record since that run, and pulled out of last week’s Bronx Open with an undisclosed injury.  Meanwhile Wozniacki has endured a tough year after revealing she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a year ago. She’s just 15-12 this season, having pulled out of multiple events. She appeared down and out in her opening round against Yafan Wang, but battled her way back to victory.  Caroline and Danielle have split two previous meetings, both of which were on clay. If Wozniacki is feeling close to 100% today, I like her defense skills to overcome the oft-erratic offense of Collins. Plus, Wozniacki knows how to win in New York. She has more wins at the US Open than any other Major, and is a two-time former finalist.

Other notable matches on Day 4:

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep (4) vs. Taylor Townsend (Q), the second consecutive American qualifier Halep faces at this event.

Madrid champion Kiki Bertens (5) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who was a quarterfinalist in Australia earlier this year.  Pavlyuchenkova has taken two of their three recent hard court meetings.

Petra Kvitova (6) vs. Andrea Petkovic.  Petkovic owns a 5-3 record over Kvitova, and defeated her in the opening round of last year’s Australian Open 10-8 in the third.

In a battle between two of the WTA’s feistiest players, Aryna Sabalenka (9) vs. Yulia Putintseva.

Canadian teenage superstar Bianca Andreescu (15) vs. Kirsten Flipkens (LL), who hasn’t advanced beyond the second round of a Major in over five years.

The American No.1 John Isner (14) vs. Vasek Pospisil, who upset Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

2014 champion Marin Cilic (22) vs. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, a 28-year-old from Germany with a 4-10 career record at the Majors.  Since reaching last year’s US Open quarterfinals, Cilic has almost as many losses as wins.

Order of play

Arthur Ashe Stadium – 5pm (BST) start

A Zverev [6] vs F Tiafoe

S Halep [4] vs T Townsend

Not before 12am (BST)

C Wozniacki [19] vs D Collins

T Kokkinakis vs R Nadal [2]

Louis Armstrong Stadium – 4pm (BST) start

N Osaka [1] vs M Linette

J Isner [14] vs J Struff

Not before 12am (BST)

C Gauff vs T Babos

C Stebe vs M Cilic [22]