That will be the nightcap on Arthur Ashe Stadium, proceeded by a big-time fourth round affair between two WTA top 10 seeds. During the day on Ashe, 43 Major singles title will be in action, as Roger Federer and Serena Williams play their round of 16 matches. And the race for WTA No.1 ranking still hangs in the balance, with the top three players in the world all having the chance to leave New York with that crown.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Stan Wawrinka (23)
This is their first match since the US Open final of three years ago, when Wawrinka stunned Djokovic in four sets to win his third Major. That was just 15 months after Stan had also stunned Novak in the French Open final in four sets. But those are two of only five Wawrinka victories in this rivalry, compared to 20 for Djokovic. They’ve combined to create some epics in recent times. Stan and Novak played four five-setters at hard court Majors between January 2013 and January 2015, with Djokovic taking three of the four. The biggest question today is regarding the condition of the world No.1’s shoulder. It didn’t seem to drastically impact his form in a straight set win over Denis Kudla, though he remained tight-lipped regarding the extent of the injury. And Novak mysteriously arrived to the grounds extremely late on Friday, delaying his scheduled practice multiple times. Of course Wawrinka has battled his own injury troubles in recent years, but appears to be as healthy and well-conditioned as he’s been in over two years. Many of Novak and Stan’s greatest battles have occurred late at night at Slams. In front of an engaged New York crowd on a Sunday night, I think Stan will play inspired tennis, and push Djokovic farther than his shoulder will allow him to go on this day.
Roger Federer (3) vs. David Goffin (15)
After some seriously subpar tennis in his first two rounds, Federer cleaned up his act on Friday against Dan Evans, dropping only five games. And he’s 8-1 against Goffin, with David’s only victory coming at the 2017 ATP Finals. They most recently met on the grass of Halle in June, where Federer prevailed in the championship match 7-6, 6-1. Goffin will force Federer to hit a few more balls than most opponents, but doesn’t posses a weapon that can really threaten the 20-time Major champion. As long as Federer plays more like his third round match than the first two, he should advance comfortably.
Elina Svitolina (5) vs. Madison Keys (10)
Keys owns a 2-1 record over Svitolina, which includes a win in this same round at this same tournament two years ago, which was also a night match on Ashe. But earlier this year in Australia, Svitolina got the best of Keys in the round of 16 of that event. This is the one Major where Elina is yet to advance beyond this round, while Keys has made the semis or better here two straight years. Neither woman has dropped a set to this stage. Keys comes in on a nine-match winning streak, having won the title in Cincinnati. But Madison was clearly feeling under the weather on Friday, and was lucky to escape her match against fellow American Sofia Kenin in straights. She’ll need to be close to 100% to overcome the excellent defensive skills of Svitolina. But Svitolina is the more consistent competitor, so I give her the slight edge on this day considering Keys’ health, and her history of up-and-down play.
Karolina Pliskova (3) vs. Johanna Konta (16)
This is a battle between two of the WTA’s best servers. Their history has been quite one-sided, with Pliskova taking six of their seven encounters. That includes their most recent meeting, in the championship match of Rome. However, Konta’s only win did come on a hard court, three years ago in Beijing in a third set tiebreak. This will be their first match at a Major. Like Svitolina, this is the only Slam where Konta hasn’t appeared in a quarterfinal. She could be catching Pliskova at an opportunistic time, as Karolina hasn’t looked her best through three rounds here. But as their head-to-head shows, this matchup just does not favor the British No.1. Pliskova should advance to the quarters here for the fourth straight year.
Alex de Minaur vs. Grigor Dimitrov
This is a huge moment for both men, at very different stages of their careers. The 20-year-old Australian is into the fourth round of a Major for the first time, after an excellent upset of Kei Nishikori two days ago. And to say the 28-year-old Bulgarian has been slumping since winning the 2017 ATP Finals is an understatement. But he’s taken advantage of an opening in the draw, with the withdrawal of Borna Coric ahead of their second round match, and facing a lucky loser in the third round who was coming off two consecutive five-setters. De Minaur and Dimitrov have never played before, but Alex is definitely the more in-form player, with considerably more confidence. Grigor will have to remain consistently offensive to counteract the speed and service skills of de Minaur. I just don’t see it being enough, and like Alex to schedule a likely meeting with Federer on Tuesday.
Other notable matches on Day 7:
Serena Williams (8) vs. Petra Martic (22). In their first career meeting, Martic vies for her second Major quarterfinal, after reaching her first a few months ago in Paris. By contrast, Serena is playing to reach her 52nd quarterfinal at a Slam.
Ash Barty (2) vs. Qiang Wang (18). Barty leads their head-to-head 2-0, and Qiang is making her round of 16 debut at a Major.
The US Open’s new villain, Daniil Medvedev vs. Dominik Koepfer (Q), a 25-year-old from Germany who will crack the top 100 for the first time in his career after this event. The ATP has an informative piece on Koepfer here.
Coco Gauff may have been eliminated in singles, but she’s still alive in the doubles event. Scheduled third on Louis Armstrong Stadium, it’s Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke (9) vs. Coco Gauff and Katy McNally (WC).
And in case you haven’t gotten your full Kyrgios fix yet, Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer (16) vs. Marius Copil and Nick Kyrgios.
Order of play for singles matches only (time in BST)
Arthur Ashe Stadium
17:00:
(3) Roger Federer (Swi) v (15) David Goffin (Bel)
(8) Serena Williams (USA) v (22) Petra Martic (Cro)
00:00
(5) Elina Svitolina (Ukr) v (10) Madison Keys (USA)
(1) Novak Djokovic (Ser) v (23) Stan Wawrinka (Swi)
Louis Armstrong Stadium
16:00:
(18) Qiang Wang (Chn) v (2) Ashleigh Barty (Aus)
(16) Johanna Konta (Gbr) v (3) Karolina Pliskova (Cze)
(9) Nicole Melichar (USA) & Kveta Peschke (Cze) v Cori Gauff (USA) & Catherine McNally (USA)
Not before 21:00:
Dominik Koepfer (Ger) v (5) Daniil Medvedev (Rus)
Grandstand
16:00: Alexa Guarachi (Chi) & Bernarda Pera (USA) v Caroline Dolehide (USA) & Vania King (USA)
Not before 17:30:
Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) v Alex De Minaur (Aus)
Anna Kalinskaya (Rus) & Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) v Shuai Peng (Chn) & Alicja Rosolska (Pol)
(8) Marcel Granollers (Spa) & Horacio Zeballos (Arg) v (10) Rajeev Ram (USA) & Joe Salisbury (Gbr)
