By Matthew Marolf
Second round play is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, with many appealing matches around the grounds.
Kei Nishikori vs. Stan Wawrinka
This is a blockbuster second round matchup, made possible due to both players missing the second half of 2017 due to injuries. Nishikori has recovered more quickly in 2018 than Wawrinka, and has more than twice as many wins than Stan on the year. But Wawrinka has had several impressive victories over the last 10 days, over the likes of top 20 players in Nick Kyrgios and Diego Schwartzman. Kei has struggled a bit since advancing to his first Wimbledon quarterfinal, going just 3-2 so far on the North American hard courts. Their career head-to-head couldn’t be any tighter: four wins and four losses for each. They played in Cincinnati six years ago, with Kei winning in straight sets. They’ve twice met in the latter stages of the US Open, splitting two prolonged encounters. Nishikori has taken their last two matches, both on hard courts. Kei has never been beyond the third round in Cincinnati, and has just as many losses as wins in Ohio. Wawrinka has been to the quarterfinals or better at this event three times. This should be a good one, in which I give Stan a slight edge.
Other notable men’s matches on Wednesday:
Sascha Zverev vs. Robin Haase
Defending Champion Grigor Dimitrov vs. Mischa Zverev
Juan Martin Del Potro, who just reached a career-high ranking of three in the world, vs. Hyeon Chung
Novak Djokovic vs. Adrian Mannarino
Nick Kyrgios, who saved match point yesterday with a 134 mph second serve, vs. Borna Coric
Angelique Kerber vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
I was surprised to find these two players also share an even head-to-head, with six wins and six losses for each. The last time they played was also on a US hard court, when Kerber won in straights earlier this year in Miami. But Pavlyuchenkova prevailed in all three of their 2017 matches, and all were on hard courts. Kerber is of course coming off her dream run at The Championships, winning her first Wimbledon title and third Major overall. But last week in Montreal, she wasn’t quite ready to win again. She took just five games in her opening match against Alize Cornet. She’ll surely be looking to get a few match wins heading into the US Open, which she won just two years ago. Pavlyuchenkova impressed last week by pushing World Number One Simona Halep deep into a third set, in a match over three hours long. In her opening round yesterday, Anastasia lost just one game. I expect a prolonged battle here, and would not be shocked to see Kerber lose her opening match for the second straight week.
Other notable women’s matches on Wednesday:
Defending Champion Garbine Muguruza vs. Lesia Tsurenko
Rogers Cup Champion Simona Halep vs. Ajla Tomljanovic
Rogers Cup Finalist Sloane Stephens vs. Tatjana Maria
World Number Two Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kiki Bertens
Karolina Pliskova, with new coach Rennae Stubbs, vs. Aryna Sabalenka
