Novak Djokovic is seven wins away from becoming the first man to win the calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969. In doing so, he would win his 21st Major title, surpassing both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most all-time. Tennis history is within Novak’s reach, but how will he handle this momentous occasion?
In addition to the men’s World No.1, Tuesday features the women’s World No.1 Ash Barty, who faces former World No.2 and 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva. Arthur Ashe Stadium will also be headlined by 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu and 2020 runner-up Sascha Zverev.
Each day, this preview will analyze the five most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Sam Querrey – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
The Olympic gold medalist and Cincinnati champ arrives on an 11-match winning streak, but also amidst further accusations of domestic abuse becoming public. He released a statement denying those allegations, and stated he is taking legal action against the publication and the author. Will this distract from his tennis at this event? Perhaps, but he’ll still be a considerable favorite against Querrey. The 33-year-old American was a quarterfinalist in 2017, but outside of that run is 0-5 in his last five appearances. And Sam is 2-7 this season on hard courts, having lost his last six matches on this surface, dating all the way back to February. Zverev won their only prior encounter in straight sets, which was two years ago on a hard court in Beijing. There’s no reason to believe Tuesday’s result will be much different.
Ash Barty (1) vs. Vera Zvonareva – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium
What a year Barty is putting together. The Wimbledon champ is 40-7, with five titles. She has separated herself from her competition, leading the WTA rankings by over 3,000 points. But this is the only Major where she is yet to advance beyond the fourth round, as she’s stalled there in her last two appearances. Zvonareva has achieved further singles success in New York, as she reached a final and a quarterfinal in consecutive years. However, that was a decade ago, and Vera has only earned two tour-level wins this summer. Also, last week in Cleveland, she withdrew due to injury. So this should be a straightforward first round victory for the Cincinnati champion.
Karolina Muchova (22) vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo – Fourth on Court 6
This is not the highest-profile match of the day, but it will likely be one of the best. Muchova has excelled at Majors of late, reaching a semifinal in Australia and a quarterfinal at Wimbledon. And Karolina is yet to lose before the third round of the US Open in three appearances. Sorribes Tormo has participated in some of the WTA’s best matches this season, especially her Miami battle against Andreescu and her Wimbledon clash with Kerber. And in Tokyo, she upset Barty in the first round. Her defensive skills, and her lack of unforced errors, can frustrate more aggressive players like Muchova. Their clash of styles could make for another epic affair. As impressive as Sara has been this season, with 27 wins, she remains only 5-17 lifetime at Slams. And these fast courts should reward Muchova’s offense, making her the favorite to advance.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune (Q) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Rune is an 18-year-old from Denmark with a lot of promise. He won the junior event at the 2019 French Open, and has won 13 straight matches this month at all levels, which includes two Challenger titles. But facing the 20-time Major champion inside the sport’s biggest stadium will be an entirely new experience for the teenager. And as mentioned, Djokovic is a man on a mission. He is not only chasing history; he is also looking to avenge the embarrassment of getting defaulted from this event a year ago for hitting a lines judge with a ball. I fully expect Novak to show some nerves during this fortnight, but a loss on Tuesday evening would be utterly shocking. Still, I am curious to see how Rune performs on this big stage, and just how sharp Djokovic looks after the disappointing losses he suffered in Tokyo.
Bianca Andreescu (6) vs. Viktorija Golubic – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium
This will be Andreescu’s first time on Ashe since winning the event two years ago. She missed all of 2020 due to injuries and travel restrictions. Bianca played excellently earlier this year in Miami, reaching the final, but has struggled ever since. The 21-year-old has now dropped six of her last eight matches, with those two wins coming against players ranked 96th and 172nd in the world. And in the first round, she’s facing an opponent with plenty of confidence. Golubic has amassed 45 wins this year at all levels, and was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon. Also, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles at the Olympic with Belinda Bencic. While this is a tricky first round draw for the 2019 champ, I suspect Andreescu will grit her way to victory. Bianca has done just that many times in the last few years, even when her best tennis escapes her.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Karolina Pliskova (4) vs. Catherine McNally (WC) – The Wimbledon finalist has won 15 of her last 19 matches. McNally is a 19-year-old American who reached the third round a year ago.
Matteo Berrettini (6) vs. Jeremy Chardy – Berrettini has only played two matches since the Wimbledon final due to a thigh injury, which was still taped up during practices last week in New York. Chardy advanced to the quarterfinals at the Olympics, but lost to Matteo in Marseille two years ago in two tiebreak sets.
Belinda Bencic (11) vs. Aranxta Rus – The Olympic gold medalist has won nine of her last 10, and was a semifinalist here in her last appearance two years ago. Rus is on a 6-match losing streak at Majors, though she won consecutive lower-level titles this month on clay.
Denis Shapovalov (7) vs. Federico Delbonis – Shapovalov was one set away from the semifinals a year ago, but achieved his first Major semi last month at The Championships. However, he’s currently on a four-match losing streak. Delbonis reached the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters in May as a qualifier, with three top 25 victories.
Alex de Minaur (14) vs. Taylor Fritz – This will be the last match of the evening on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Three years ago on the same court, de Minaur saved seven match points before succumbing to Marin Cilic in five sets at almost 2:30am. Fritz let a two-sets-to-one lead slip away last year against Shapovalov, and like Denis has lost his last four matches.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
