With rain forcing some of Tuesday’s matches to be delayed until Wednesday, this has become one of the best daily schedules you will see all year. And while there’s a chance of a thunderstorm later in the day, thankfully the rest of the day looks to be dry.
Osaka, Murray, Kerber, Barty, Halep, Muguruza, Kvitova, Azarenka, Andreescu, Swiatek, Medvedev, Zverev, and Tsitsipas are just some of the top names on the card. But the two highest-profile matches of the day feature top seeds taking on the two best young prospects America has to offer.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing men’s and women’s matchup, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 10:00am local time.
Naomi Osaka (2) vs. Coco Gauff – Not before 1:00pm on Center Court
They first played at 2019’s US Open. That was during Gauff’s breakout summer, though she only managed three games against Osaka in New York. Naomi asked a tearful Coco to join her for the post-match interview on court, one of tennis’ most touching moments in recent years. Five months later in Melbourne, Gauff upset Osaka 6-3, 6-4. Since withdrawing from the French Open for mental health reasons, Osaka has not played a WTA match, only competing in three matches at the Tokyo Olympics. It seems her every action and word is dissected of late, which cannot be easy for a player who does not enjoy the attention. And her recent lack of play will not help her against Gauff, who since May is an impressive 20-5. Coco may just be the favorite to prevail on this day.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. Sebastian Korda – Sixth on Center Court
No one has won more matches this year than Tsitsipas, though he’s endured quite a dramatic few months. From his defeat in the Roland Garros final, to the painful loss of his grandmother, to disappointing losses at Wimbledon and the Olympics. And he faces another stern challenge here in Korda, a 21-year-old who started the season ranked outside the top 100, yet recently debuted inside the top 50. Sebastian reached the quarters in Miami, won the title in Parma, and advanced to the second week at The Championships. He seems poised to soon be the No.1 American male, but is he ready to upset a top player like Tsitsipas? Given Korda’s composed, well-rounded game, and the Greek’s rather cranky demeanor last week in Toronto, that feels entirely possible.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Elina Svitolina (4) vs. Angelique Kerber – Svitolina leads their head-to-head 9-5, and has claimed their last seven meetings, dating all the way back to October of 2016. Six of those seven wins were straight-setters.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Mackie McDonald (WC) – It’s the Toronto champion against the Washington runner-up. Medvedev is 4-0 against the 26-year-old American wild card.
Hubert Hurkacz (9) vs. Andy Murray (WC) – Hurkacz nearly defeated Medvedev last week, eventually falling in a third-set tiebreak. Murray, a two-time champion here, comfortably overcame Richard Gasquet on Monday.
Iga Swiatek vs. Ons Jabeur – This is a rematch from Manic Monday at The Championships, which Jabeur won in three. But Ons played a long three-setter late Tuesday night against Anett Kontaveit, as well as four matches last week in Montreal. Swiatek hasn’t played since the Olympics.
Bianca Andreescu (7) vs. Karolina Muchova – Andreescu was one of Jabeur’s victims last week in her home country. Muchova defeated Johanna Konta on Monday.
Simona Halep (12) vs. Jessica Pegula – Halep just returned last week from a near three-month layoff due to a calf injury, and battled another leg injury on Tuesday. Pegula beat Montreal champion Camila Giorgi in the opening round.
Andrey Rublev (4) vs. Marin Cilic – Rublev advanced to his first-ever Masters 1000 quarterfinal when this event was last staged in Ohio. Cilic won this tournament in 2016. Rublev is 3-1 against Cilic, and has taken their last three encounters in straight sets.
Jennifer Brady (11) vs. Jelena Ostapenko – Brady has been injury-plagued since advancing to the Australian Open final, and is only 5-6 in the last six months. But she did take out Ostapenko in Madrid, by a score of 6-2, 6-1.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (12) vs. Karen Khachanov – Since reaching his first Major quarterfinal at Wimbledon, Felix is just 2-3. Khachanov was also a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, and is 8-2 since. Two years ago in Canada, the Russian took out the Canadian in three sets.
Jannik Sinner (11) vs. John Isner – Sinner was the champion in Washington, while Isner prevailed in Atlanta the week prior.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
