The second round of the
US Open gets underway today at the USTA
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Home favorite Gauff, who is still only 19 years old, is set
for a battle of the teens with 16-year-old
Mirra Andreeva. This comes two years
after the New York slam saw an all-teenage final between Emma Raducanu and
Leylah Fernandez.
Gauff has had a highly successful time on the North American
swing, winning both the DC Open and the Cincinnati Open this month. The American
is back on Arthur Ashe today after defeating Laura Siegemund in a dramatic
match 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round.
Meanwhile, Andreeva, who only made her WTA Tour debut in
2022, drew attention at Wimbledon last month after she made the fourth round,
making her the youngest player to reach this milestone since Gauff did the same at 15 years old in 2019. Along the way, the Russian defeated tenth seed Barbora
Krejcikova and twenty-second seed Anastasia Potapova before losing to 25th seed Madison
Keys.
The two have faced each other once before in the third round
of the 2023 French Open, where Gauff emerged victorious 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1.
Djokovic and Swiatek play their secound rounds
Meanwhile, 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and world
No. 1
Iga Swiatek are back on the courts today for their second-round matches.
The Serb has already re-claimed the world No. 1 position in the ATP
Ranking, taking it back from defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz after winning
his first-round match against Alexandre Muller. Now, he will return to Arthur
Ashe to face Alcaraz’s compatriot, world No. 76 Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
The
Spaniard will be hoping to pull off a shock victory to progress through to the third
round of the New York Slam for the first time, but given Djokovic’s dominant
display in his opening match, defeating Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3, this is looking
like an unlikely feat.
The highest-ranked player on the court in Louis Armstrong
Stadium will be defending women’s singles champion Swiatek, who achieved a
commanding victory over Rebecca Peterson in the first round. She is set to face
Australia’s Daria Saville, who is currently ranked at World No. 179.
This is Saville’s
third time in the second round of the US Open, and like Miralles, it is
unlikely that she will make her third-round debut at this year’s tournament
against an on-form Swiatek, who leads their head-to-head 1-0.
Wozniacki and Kvitova to resume rivalry
The day's final match on Arthur Ashe will feature two-time Wimbledon champion
Petra Kvitova facing off against former world No. 1
Caroline Wozniacki.
The latter is playing just her third tournament since she returned to the sport earlier this month after three and a half years away. Both women are 33 years old and this match will mark the resumption of a
long-lasting sporting rivalry between the two that was halted with Wozniacki’s
retirement in 2020.
They have played each other a total of 14 times in the past, including at
least once every year between 2009 and 2018. Kvitova leads their head-to-head 8-6,
and as the eleventh seed she is predicted to extend this lead at Flushing
Meadows. The Czech made a strong start in her first round, blasting 34 winners compared
to 18 unforced errors.
Wozniacki also won her opening round in straight sets, but had twice as many
unforced errors as Kvitova, meaning she will need to clean up her game slightly
if she wants to progress through to the third round.
Also on Arthur Ashe will be tenth seed Frances Tiafoe, who will have the home-crowd support firmly behind him as he faces off against world No. 58 Sebastien Ofner.
An all-American day on Court 17
Over on Court 17, one American will be playing in every match throughout the day.
Taylor Townsend will be up first against nineteenth seed
Beatriz Haddad-Maia, who ousted American player and 2017 US Open champion
Sloane Stephens in the first round. Townsend entered the tournament at the last
minute after Simona Halep was withdrawn and made a strong start, defeating
Varvara Gracheva in straight sets.
28th seed
Christopher Eubanks will be up next,
playing against France’s Benjamin Bonzi. Following him will be fourteenth seed
Tommy Paul against Roman Safiullin, before
Jennifer Brady, who came back this
summer after injuries forced her out of the sport for two years, goes up
against 24th seed Magda Linette.
Elsewhere, fourth seed
Elena Rybakina will face Ajla Tomljanovic on Louis Armstrong. They will follow 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem's match against home player Ben Shelton. Another American will close out the day on the second most important court, as ninth seed
Taylor Fritz faces Peruvian player Juan Pablo Varillas.
Over on Grandstand, seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will face qualifier Dominic Stricker, followed by eighteenth seed Victoria Azarenka's match against Zhu Lin. Next up will be fifth seed Casper Ruud, who will play against Zhizhen Zhang.
US Open Schedule for Day Three
Wednesday, August 30, 2023 | | | |
Day 9 | | | |
Arthur Ashe Stadium Starts At 12:00 PM | | | |
R64 | Mirra Andreeva | VS | Coco Gauff |
R64 | Bernabe Zapata Miralles | VS | Novak Djokovic |
R64 | Sebastian Ofner | VS | Frances Tiafoe |
Starts At 9:00 PM | | | |
R64 | -11 | | Petra Kvitova |
Louis Armstrong Stadium Starts At 11:00 AM | | | |
R64 | Elise Mertens | VS | Danielle Collins |
R64 | Iga Swiatek | VS | Daria Saville |
R64 | Dominic Thiem | VS | Ben Shelton |
R64 | Elena Rybakina | VS | Ajla Tomljanovic |
Starts At 8:15 PM | | | |
R64 | | | Juan Pablo Varillas |
Grandstand Starts At 11:00 AM | | | |
R64 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | VS | Dominic Stricker |
R64 | Victoria Azarenka | VS | Lin Zhu |
R64 | Casper Ruud | VS | Zhizhen Zhang |
Court 17 Starts At 11:00 AM | | | |
R64 | Taylor Townsend | VS | Beatriz Haddad Maia |
R64 | Benjamin Bonzi | VS | Christopher Eubanks |
R64 | Tommy Paul | VS | Roman Safiullin |
R64 | Jennifer Brady | VS | Magda Linette |