By Matthew Marolf
On the heels of an exciting Day 5, Saturday’s schedule has plenty of matches that look to be highly competitive.
Roger Federer vs. Nick Kyrgios
All three of their previous meetings have been decided by a final set tiebreak. Kyrgios won their first match three years ago in Madrid, but Federer prevailed in front of a raucous crowd in Miami last year, as well as in Stuttgart a few months ago. Not included in their official head-to-head is their match from last year’s inaugural Laver Cup, which Federer also won in a tiebreak to secure the win for Team Europe. Much has been said regarding Kyrgios’ second round match from Thursday, where he was clearly not giving his all and found himself in a deep hole before Chair Umpire Mohamed Lahyani got down from his post to inappropriately encourage Nick to compete. I would assume Kyrgios will full apply himself against the 20-time Major champion on Arthur Ashe Stadium, as Nick just about always gets pumped up when playing top names, though assuming anything with Kyrgios is at your own risk. This will be their first meeting at a Major, and the best-of-five format should give Roger a definitive advantage. I struggle to imagine Kyrgios upsetting Federer in an extended four or five set battle. This will certainly be fascinating to watch. With the winner to face an unseeded opponent in the fourth round, either man will be a heavy favourite for a likely meeting with Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Maria Sharapova
Here we have a meeting of French Open champions, in a rematch of one of the best WTA matches in 2018. In Rome earlier this year, these women had an epic, over three-hour slugfest, with Sharapova prevailing 7-5 in the third. Maria hasn’t been at her best this summer though, going just 2-2 between the French Open and this tournament. And she’s obviously been less than 100% through her first two rounds here, with her wrist taped up and a lot of service troubles. Sharapova hit 19 double faults in her first two matches. Meanwhile Ostapenko didn’t win a match in the US Open Series following her Wimbledon semifinal, and barely survived three-set encounters in both of her first rounds. And she’s had her own serving issues, hitting 26 double faults through two rounds. I’m not sure either player is ready to give us a repeat of the thriller in Rome, and we’ll likely see a high unforced error count on both sides of the net. But these are two gutsy competitors who are unlikely to give less than their all through the last point. The cleaner hitter on Saturday will likely pull through here.
Petra Kvitova vs. Aryna Sabalenka
This will be the second meeting between two of the most notable players of 2018. Kvitova is back at the top of her game this year following the in-home attack she suffered in December of 2016. Petra has five titles on the year, 46 match wins, and is third in the year-to-date rankings. However she’s appeared a bit worn out at times after so much match play in the first six months of the year, evident in her 6-0 third set loss in the opening round of Wimbledon. Petra has been economical thus far this week, winning both of her first two matches in straight sets. That’s crucial for Kvitova considering the hot and humid conditions, which she’s suffered in many times before. Sabalenka is one of the hottest players on tour, coming off her semifinal run in Cincinatti, and her first WTA title last week in New Haven. Does the 20-year-old have enough steam left to upset the two-time Wimbledon champion? Their only previous meeting was a three-setter that went to Kvitova earlier this year in Miami. I’m extremely curious to see who prevails between these two heavy hitters.
Angelique Kerber vs. Dominika Cibulkova
This is another women’s match on Saturday that I can’t wait to see play out. In contrast to the Kvitova/Sabalenka match, we’ll get a lot of long, grinding, strategic rallies. Their rivalry over the years has been a tight one, with Kerber holding a slight 7-5 edge. Angelique comfortably won both of their 2018 meetings. Their most significant encounter was in the championship match of the 2016 WTA Finals, when Cibulkova upset Kerber, after losing to her in round robin play, for the biggest title of her career. Dominika has failed to follow-up on that result, with almost as many losses as wins over the past two seasons. Meanwhile the reigning Wimbledon champion played quite tentatively on Thursday against Johanna Larson, but escaped the upset 6-4 in the third. In a match that feels it could go either way, I would not be surprised to see Cibulkova get the duke in a prolonged battle.
Diego Schwartzman vs. Kei Nishikori
These two swift competitors have played twice before. Both of those matches took place in 2017 on clay, both went to a final set, and both were won by Nishikori. Both players also have fond memories in New York. Kei was of course a finalist here in 2014, and a semi-finalist in 2016, while Diego appeared in his first Major quarterfinal here just last year. They also both made quarterfinals at Majors earlier this year: Nishikori at Wimbledon, and Schwartzman at Roland Garros. This is yet another match on Saturday that seems it could easily go four or five sets, and will feature many long and dynamic rallies. And it’s another one where calling a winner is tough, but considering Nishikori is 13-2 in New York since 2014, I wouldn’t bet against him.
Other notable matches on Day 5:
Novak Djokovic vs. Richard Gasquet, who has only beaten Novak once in 14 tries.
Sixth-Seeded Caroline Garcia vs. Six-Time Major Quarterfinalist Carla Suarez Navarro.
In an all-German affair, Sascha Zverev vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Indian Wells Champion Naomi Osaka vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who upset Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon.
2014 US Open Champion Marin Cilic vs. ATP Next Gen Standout Alex de Minaur.
Day Six Order Of Play
Play Starts at 16:00 BST unless stated.
Arthur Ashe Stadium – 17:00 BST
M. Keys (USA) [14] v A. Krunic (SRB)
N. Kyrgios (AUS) [30] v R. Federer (SUI) [2]
Not Before 00:00 GMT
M. Sharapova (RUS) [22] v J. Ostapenko (LAT) [10]
N. Djokovic (SRB) [6] v R. Gasquet (FRA) [26]
Louis Armstrong Stadium
K. Bertens (NED) [13] v M. Vondrousova (CZE)
D. Cibulkova (SVK) [29] v A. Kerber (GER) [4]
P. Kohlschreiber (GER) v A. Zverev (GER) [4]
Not before 00:00 GMT
P. Kvitova (CZE) [5] v A. Sabalenka (BLR) [26]
M. Cilic (CRO) [7] v A. De Minaur (AUS)
Grandstand
J. Millman (AUS) v M. Kukushkin (KAZ)
K. Siniakova (CZE) v L. Tsurenko (UKR)
N. Osaka (JPN) [20] v A. Sasnovich (BLR)
Not Before 22:00
D. Schwartzman (ARG) [13] v K. Nishikori (JPN) [21]
Court 17
Y. Nishioka (JPN)/M. McDonald (USA) v M. Bryan (USA) [3]/J. Sock (USA) [3]
C. Garcia (FRA) [6] v C. Suarez Navarro (ESP) [30]
L. Pouille (FRA) [17] v J. Sousa (POR)
J. Struff (GER) v D. Goffin (BEL) [10]
