On Monday, Andy Murray overcame another three-time Major singles champion, Stan Wawrinka, in a three-hour thriller. In the second round, he meets the new British No.1 Cam Norrie, who reached his first Slam semifinal last month at Wimbledon.
WTA action is headlined by three matches between Slam singles champs, which includes world No.1 Iga Swiatek. Also on Wednesday, Rafael Nadal will play his first match since withdrawing from the Wimbledon semifinals.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Andy Murray vs. Cameron Norrie – 11:00am on Center Court
Murray will be happy he had a day of rest after his emotionally and physically taxing match against Wawrinka. He has compiled a solid record of 23-14 this season, with 2022 being his most active year since 2017, when his hip issues began. But Norrie has taken his place as the top British male, and has really come into his own over the past 18 months. Cam is now 38-18 this season, and has reached 10 finals since the start of last year. Their only prior meeting occurred three years ago in Beijing, with Murray prevailing in a long, tight three-setter that lasted nearly three hours. But three years later, Norrie is a much-improved competitor. While playing your fellow countryman is often tricky, especially when they’ve been knighted, Cam should be favored to even their head-to-head.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Sloane Stephens (WC) – Not Before 3:00pm on Grand Stand
Swiatek is vying for her 50th win of the season on Wednesday, with 37 of those victories coming consecutively between February and July. But since those 37 wins in a row, Iga is only 3-3, and suffered a frustrating loss last week in Toronto to Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-5 in the third after three hours of play. Stephens continues to be a streaky player, as the 2017 US Open champion has gone on multiple winning and losing streaks of four matches or more throughout the year. On Monday night, she crushed Alize Cornet 6-1, 6-0. Sloane often plays her best tennis in American hard courts, and advanced to the third round or better of this tournament in seven straight appearances between 2012 and 2019. These two Major champs have never played before. Stephens could be primed for another win streak, and it would be understandable if Swiatek experienced a dip in her level after all the tennis she’s played this year. Yet after dominating the tour for most of the year, Iga should still be favored.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Victoria Azarenka vs. Emma Raducanu (10) – It’s a two-time Australian Open champ against the reigning US Open champ. Azarenka defeated Kaia Kanepi in three sets on Tuesday, while Raducanu easily prevailed over Serena Williams 6-4, 6-0.
Elena Rybakina vs. Garbine Muguruza (8) – It’s another two-time Major champ against the reigning Wimbledon champ. Rybakina is 2-2 since her surprising run at The All-England Club, while Muguruza is a subpar 9-13 on the year. They split two meetings last year, with Elena victorious in the more notable encounter, in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics.
Taylor Fritz (11) vs. Nick Kyrgios – Fritz started the summer by winning the title in Eastbourne, while Kyrgios was the champion in Washington. This will be their first career meeting.
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Borna Coric (PR) – Despite his injury issues, Nadal is a staggering 35-3 in 2022, and 20-1 on hard courts. Coric missed a full year of action due to shoulder surgery, and is just 12-12 at all levels since returning. Borna has won two of their four previous meetings, including six years ago at this event.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
