(Reuters) – The second round of the U.S. Open begins on Wednesday as the world’s top players battle for Grand Slam glory in New York.
Third seed Coco Gauff continues her title defence when she meets German veteran Tatjana Maria, while holder Novak Djokovic returns to the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium to face fellow Serb Laslo Djere.
Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz will also be in action on the main showcourts as they resume their quest to end a 21-year American wait for a homegrown men’s winner in New York.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: FRITZ v BERRETTINI
Fritz has never lost to Italian Matteo Berrettini in three previous clashes but the 12th seed expects a battle against a fellow big server at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“In the head-to-head I’ve been able to get him, but it’s always been really close, as it always will be, because both of us are big servers,” Fritz said.
“It’s going to come down to how we perform … If someone comes up with something on a big point, it’s small margins when there’s two people with big games playing each other.”
Berrettini has struggled with injuries over the last two years and is unseeded in the season’s final Grand Slam.
“It’s going to be a tough match but that’s why I’m training. That’s why I’m working really hard this season, to come back at this level,” he said.
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: SABALENKA v BRONZETTI
Aryna Sabalenka dropped just three games en route to victory in her only previous match against Lucia Bronzetti in Brisbane this year and the Australian Open champion will be the heavy favourite against the unseeded Italian.
The powerful Belarusian made short work of Priscilla Hon in the first round and will look to build more momentum in her bid to reach back-to-back finals in the Grand Slam.
DJOKOVIC DOES HOMEWORK ON DJERE
Djokovic had hoped to avoid another late finish after his opener ended at around midnight but the 37-year-old heads into what could be a gruelling clash against Djere, who dragged him to five sets in New York last year.
“It’s a guaranteed third round for one of the Serbian guys. Hopefully it’s going to be me, but Djere is a guy that really likes playing on a big stage,” Djokovic said.
“I remember very well our match. It was a tough match. I’m going to try to analyse that and hopefully do some things even better than I did last year.”
U.S. OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON WEDNESDAY
Here is the order of play on the main showcourts on the third day of the U.S. Open (prefix number denotes seeding):
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM (1600 GMT/12 PM ET)
14-Madison Keys (U.S.) v Maya Joint (Australia)
Alexander Shevchenko (Kazakhstan) v 20-Frances Tiafoe (U.S.)
Tatjana Maria (Germany) v 3-Coco Gauff (U.S.)
Laslo Djere (Serbia) v 2-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM (1500 GMT/11 AM ET)
Taylor Townsend (U.S.) v 26-Paula Badosa (Spain)
Alexandre Muller (France) v 4-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
Lucia Bronzetti (Italy) v 2-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
20-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) v Clara Burel (France)
Matteo Berrettini (Italy) v 12-Taylor Fritz (U.S.)
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
