Two of tennis’ resident bad boys will collide in a blockbuster fourth round matchup on Sunday. In a rematch from a few weeks ago in Montreal, defending champion Daniil Medvedev will take on Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios. Medvedev infamously turned the New York crowd against him three years ago, before quickly winning them back with his tremendous play in the 2019 final. Kyrgios’ behavior on court is frequently immature, yet he is one of the sport’s most popular players. Who will prevail on Sunday night?
Sunday’s other round of 16 action includes three other recent Major finalists: Ons Jabeur, Coco Gauff, and Matteo Berrettini. And the player who ended the storied career of Serena Williams on Friday, Ajla Tomjanovic, faces one of the WTA’s best players of the summer, Liudmila Samsonova.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Pablo Carreno Busta (12) vs. Karen Khachanov (27) – Third on Louis Armstrong Stadium
This is a rematch from one of the most important matches in both of these players’ careers. In the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, Khachanov defeated Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3. Karen would earn the silver medal, while Pablo would take the bronze. Overall Khachanov leads their head-to-head 5-3, and 4-1 on hard courts. In fact, Karen has claimed their last four meetings on this surface. However, Carreno Busta is the much more in-form player, coming off his first Masters 1000 title in Montreal. And he’s a two-time semifinalist in New York, while this is Khachanov’s first time reaching the fourth round. And notably, Khachanov was trailing Jack Draper in the last round before the young Brit was injured and eventually retired. With that in mind, I like Carreno Busta’s chances of achieving his third quarterfinal at the Open.
Liudmila Samsonova vs. Ajla Tomljanovic – Fourth on Louis Armstrong Stadium
The way Tomljanovic handled the pressure of facing Serena on Friday, as well as the 23,000 people in attendance who were rooting against her, was extremely impressive, especially for a player who has been known to struggle to close out matches in the past. But that was a physically and emotionally draining evening, so how will Ajla recover for this round of 16 matchup? Samsonova is on a 13-match win streak, coming off consecutive titles in Washington and Cleveland. As per the WTA, she started working with a mental coach this summer, which she attributes her recent results to. Liudmila has a big game, and has been dominant, claiming her last 18 sets dating back to last week in Cleveland. They have split two previous meetings, with Samsonova prevailing in three sets most recently just a few weeks ago in Washington. Liudmila should be favored to win again on Sunday and advance to her first Major quarterfinal.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Nick Kyrgios (23) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
In Montreal, Kyrgios defeated Medvedev in three sets, and leads their rivalry 3-1. Their other recent encounter was at this past January’s Australian Open, where Daniil was victorious in four sets. And the best-of-five format would seem to favor Medvedev, as Kyrgios often struggles to maintain a high level for sustained periods. But Nick is in the midst of the best stretch of his career, as he’s taken 25 of his last 30 matches. Both men should be fully fresh for this match: Medvedev has not dropped a set, while Kyrgios has dropped only one. Also, both players are good at getting under their opponent’s skin, yet they can also both be quite irritable themselves. However, Nick’s on-court temperament is much more of a liability than Daniil’s. If this match goes into a fourth or fifth set, which it likely will, Medvedev becomes a considerable favorite to reach his fourth consecutive quarterfinal in New York.
Ons Jabeur (5) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (18) – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium
No one has been more impressive through the first three rounds of this tournament than Kudermetova. She is the only player to advance this far without losing serve, and has only faced two break points to this stage. And Veronika has lost just 15 games through six sets. However, she’s yet to face a player of Jabeur’s prowess. Ons is the best WTA player of 2022 not named Iga Swiatek, with a record of 41-13. But she is 0-3 against Kudermetova, which includes a hard court match in San Jose just a few weeks ago. While you cannot discount Jabeur’s fighting spirit, and she is more experienced in big matches, Kudermetova is the favorite to achieve her second straight Major quarterfinal.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Matteo Berrettini (13) – Berrettini ousted Andy Murray on Friday in four sets to reach his fourth consecutive round of 16 in New York. Davidovich Fokina owned a losing record on the year coming into this event, and has taken advantage of a kind draw, as he’s yet to face a top 50 player. Last year in Monte Carlo on clay, Alejandro defeated Matteo in straight sets.
Corentin Moutet (LL) vs. Casper Ruud (5) – Moutet is the first men’s lucky loser to reach the fourth round of the US Open. Ruud outlasted Tommy Paul in five sets on Friday. This is their first career meeting.
Caroline Garcia (17) vs. Alison Riske-Amritraj (29) – Cincinnati champ Garcia is on an 11-match win streak, and has won 29 of her last 33. Riske-Amritraj was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2019. And she is 3-0 against Garcia at all levels, having claimed all three of those contests in straight sets.
Coco Gauff (12) vs. Shuai Zhang – Gauff played excellently in the last round, eliminating an in-form Madison Keys in straight sets. Like Coco, Shuai is yet to drop a set this fortnight. Six months ago in Miami, Coco defeated Zhang after two tight sets.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
