After rain forced the cancellation of the vast majority of Tuesday’s schedule, fans will be treated to a smorgasbord of tennis on Wednesday, with 87 singles matches on Day 3’s Order of Play. Every court on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be bursting with action, featuring 174 of the remaining 183 players in the singles draws. Below are just a few of the matches to keep your eyes on.
Alexander Zverev vs. Borna Coric
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This will be a battle of up-and-coming 20-year-olds, and two of the three top ranked ATP Next Gen players. Zverev of course has soared to much greater heights thus far than Coric. The German phenom has won five titles this year, sits at number three in the year-to-date rankings, and is the odds makers’ third favorite to win this tournament behind Nadal and Federer. As open as the men’s draw is, this may be a bit early to expect Zverev to win a major. His team has speculated his body is likely not yet at the necessary fitness level to win seven best-of-five matches. Zverev also played until 2am on Tuesday morning in his first round, meaning he was likely not in bed until several hours thereafter. That must be tough to come back from just 36 hours later. Meanwhile Coric’s rise has stalled over the past few years amid injuries and sporadic results. Coric though has shown he’s capable of some big wins: he owns victories over Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Earlier this year, he won the first title of his career in Morocco, saving five match points in the final against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Coric also won the only previous meeting against Zverev, which was on the hard courts of Cincinnati, though that was two years ago before Zverev came into his own. That match went to a final set tiebreaker: let’s hope Wednesday’s encounter is just as exciting.
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Ekaterina Makarova
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Wozniacki has quietly put together a very consistent year, though she must be disappointed that she’s won no titles despite appearing in six finals. Much like we saw on Monday with Simona Halep, Wozniacki’s game lacks any big offensive weapons. This allows her opponents to dictate play, and often, the outcome. While Makarova has found more success in recent years in doubles, she’s still capable of pulling off big wins. Ekaterina is a very strong hard court player, and just won the title in Washington DC a few weeks ago. And unlike Wozniacki, Makarova is more prone to hit a lot of winners with her groundstrokes. Surprisingly, Makarova has never defeated Wozniacki in seven tries. Caroline will try to make it eight in a row by using her own speed, and using Makarova’s pace of shot against her.
Dominika Cibulkova vs. Sloane Stephens
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After missing almost a year of action due to a foot injury, Sloane Stephens has quickly regained her form this summer. In just her third and fourth tournaments back, Sloane made the semifinals in both Toronto and Cincinnati. On the other hand, Cibulkova has slumped this year after winning the biggest title of her career at last year’s year-end championships in Singapore. Dominika barely has a winning record on the year, though she did regain a bit of momentum in reaching the final of New Haven last week. Based on recent form, Stephens is the favorite. She is also 2-1 lifetime against Cibulkova. Look for a lot of long rallies from the back of the court between two strong competitors with great movement.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Denis Shapovalov
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Is the 18-year-old Canadian ready to upset another big name? Shapovalov did just that a few weeks ago, defeating Rafael Nadal in a stirring night match in Montreal. That was one of many night session matches Shapovalov won that week, and here he’ll make his debut on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the final night match of Day 3. Tsonga won three titles earlier in 2017, but has struggled of late and went 0-2 in summer hard court warm-up events. The US Open is the only major where Jo has not advanced past the quarterfinals, but he has made it to that stage in both of the last two years. After two stellar night sessions to start off the fortnight, these two exciting players are capable of lighting up the third night session with their spectacular shot making and athleticism.
Order of play
