Second round singles action gets underway on Wednesday in New York City.
Wednesday’s play is highlighted by two huge second matchups in the women’s singles draw. Two of the sport’s youngest and brightest stars will collide to start the day on Arthur Ashe Stadium, in Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva. And to end the evening on Ashe, it’s a battle between Major champions and WTA veterans, in Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki. Plus, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina will also be in action.
On the men’s side, 2020 champion Dominic Thiem faces American newcomer Ben Shelton. In addition, Slam finalists Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas will both play their second round matches. And Novak Djokovic, who recaptured the World No.1 ranking with his victory on Monday, returns to Ashe Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Mirra Andreeva vs. Coco Gauff (6) – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
This is a rematch from the third round of Roland Garros just a few months ago, when Gauff stormed back after losing the first set in a tiebreak to win each of the last two sets by a score of 6-1. Once Andreeva got down early in that second set, she quickly got down on herself, and did not bother to hide her frustration. Is the 16-year-old better prepared to win two sets off Coco come Wednesday?
For Mirra, this is only her seventh career WTA-level tournament. Yet she’s been so impressive in some of those appearances, as well as below WTA level, that oddsmakers had her as the eighth favorite to win this event before it began. Those results include reaching the fourth round of Madrid, the third round of the French Open, and the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Gauff is now 39-13 this season, and 12-1 this summer on hard courts, with two titles (Washington, Cincinnati). She survived a grueling, contentious first round matchup against Laura Siegemund, where unfortunately Siegemund’s extended time between points became the focal point.
Based on her recent form, Coco should be favored to again defeat Mirra on Wednesday. However, Andreeva’s all-court skills could again complicate matters for Gauff. If the 16-year-old can better control her emotions in this matchup, she has a legitimate shot at pulling off the upset.
Dominic Thiem vs. Ben Shelton – Third on Louis Armstrong Stadium
On Monday, Thiem earned his first win at a Slam in nearly three years, with some help from a disgruntled Alexander Bublik, who began to tank after falling behind. That was also Dominic’s first victory on a hard court since October of last year.
Shelton began to make a name for himself by upsetting Casper Ruud last summer in Cincinnati, then going on to win three Challenger events back-to-back-to-back, all on hard courts. And this past January, he was a surprise quarterfinalist at the Australian Open. However, he has struggled mightily after that achievement, with an overall record this season of just 15-22.
Thiem and Shelton played earlier this year on clay in Estoril, where Dominic easily prevailed 6-2, 6-2. But the situation will likely be quite different on a hard court, and in Ben’s home country. I give the American the slight edge to advance on this surface.
Casper Ruud (5) vs. Zhizhen Zhang – Not Before 5:00pm on Grandstand
Ruud is a modest 30-17 on the year, and went only 1-2 this summer on hard courts. But he was a finalist here a year ago, as he also was in both of the past two years at Roland Garros. So Casper has proven he is a formidable foe in the best-of-five format.
Zhizhen got his first US Open victory the hard way on Monday. After taking the first two sets against J.J. Wolf, and being two points from the match in the third set, he dropped the third and fourth sets, before eventually winning 6-3 in the fifth. Zhang’s most notable run of his career thus far came this past April in Madrid, where he upset Denis Shapovalov, Cam Norrie, and Taylor Fritz, with all three of those matches decided by a third-set tiebreak.
Ruud also played a fairly taxing first round match, defeating qualifier Emilio Nava after four tight sets. And earlier this year at the French Open, Casper beat Zhang in four. I expect another close contest on Wednesday, yet still favor the fifth seed to advance.
Petra Kvitova (11) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Wozniacki is 2-2 since returning from a three-and-a-half year retirement from the sport. She comfortably dispatched of qualifier Tatiana Prozorova on Monday night. Caroline is now 39-13 lifetime at the US Open, where she is a two-time runner-up, and has reached the semifinals on three other occasions.
Kvitova is 34-15 in New York, with her two appearances in quarterfinals remaining her best performances to date. This is the only Major where she has failed to advance to a semifinal. Petra is 28-10 on the year, with two titles, including a WTA 1000 title in the United States (Miami).
In a rivalry between two of the sport’s most well-liked players, that dates back to 2009, Kvitova has the slim edge 8-6. This will be their first meeting since 2018, when they played twice on hard courts, and split those two matchups. And with Wozniacki still so early in her comeback, Kvitova is the clear favorite on Wednesday.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Elise Mertens (32) vs. Danielle Collins – Collins dominatd her first round opponent, dropping only two games, while Mertens scarcely survived in a final-set tiebreak. Danielle is 3-1 against Elise, and 3-0 on hard courts.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) vs. Dominic Stricker (Q) – Tsitsipas took out Milos Raonic on Monday night in straight sets. Stricker is a 21-year-old from Switzerland who three years ago won the French Open boys’ title in both singles and doubles. A year ago in Stuttgart on grass, Stefanos prevailed over Dominic 6-3, 6-4.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Daria Saville – As per usual, Swiatek breezed through her opening round, losing just one game. This is only Saville’s fifth tournament since missing nearly a year of action due to an ACL injury. Last year in Adelaide, Iga beat Daria 6-3, 6-3.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs. Novak Djokovic (2) – Djokovic easily picked up his 67th consecutive first round win at a Major late on Monday evening. Zapata Miralles reached the fourth round of Roland Garros a year ago, but was on a six-match losing streak at Slams prior to his first round victory.
Jennifer Brady (PR) vs. Magda Linette (24) – Brady was the 2021 Australian Open runner-up, but just recently returned to the sport after missing nearly two years due to injury. Linette was a 2023 Australian Open semifinalist, but has a losing record since that career-best run. Jen leads their head-to-head 3-1.
Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Ajla Tomljanovic – Rybakina allowed her opposition just three games on Monday. That same day, Tomljanovic played and won her first match of the entire year, as she’s been sidelined by a knee injury.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
