US Open Day 6 Preview: Top seeds Federer, Halep, Murray and Kvitova on court today
Tennis action at the US Open enters its sixth day of play as male and female players gear up to take part in the third round of their respective singles events. Play seems to have stabilised after many upsets and retirements in the first few days of the competition, although there were still some surprises in store after an intense action-packed Day 5.
The Indian contingent of Leander Paes and Sania Mirza both lost out in their respective doubles matches, with Paes losing in the gentlemen’s doubles and Mirza in the mixed.
Rafael Nadal succumbed to a shock loss against 22nd seed Fabio Fognini of Italy, fighting valiantly but eventually losing in five sets 6-4 6-4 4-6 3-6 4-6.
Venus Williams won her third round match against the highly fancied 12th ranked Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4, while top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams registered routine victories in their matches against Andreas Seppi and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Here is a look at some of the important matches being played at Flushing Meadows on Day 6:
Philipp Kohlschreiber (29) vs Roger Federer (2)
Roger Federer resumes his journey towards an 18th Grand Slam title and his first US Open Grand Slam since 2008 when he takes on 29th ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.
The 34-year-old progressed to the third round courtesy straight set wins over Leonardo Mayer and Steve Darcis, while dropping only 9 games along the way. His German opponent had to survive a nervy five setter against Alexander Zverev in the first round which ended 6-7 (0) 6-2 6-0 2-6 6-4, although his second round match against Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol was a lot more straightforward.
The two players have faced each other 10 times since their first meeting in the 2005 Halle tournament, and the Swiss Maestro has come out on top in every single one of them, winning each of their hardcourt match-ups in straight sets.
ATP Rankings:
Philipp Kohlschreiber: 29 (1,230 points)
Roger Federer: 2 (9,065 points)
Prediction: Roger Federer to take this one in straight sets.
Thomaz Bellucci (30) vs Andy Murray (3)
World Number 3 Andy Murray will take on Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the third round of the US Open men’s singles at the Flushing Meadows. The Scot will be looking to go all the way to the final in this tournament, having already won the Grand Slam tournament once before in 2012.
He reached the third round via a two difficult matches against Nick Kyrgios and Adrian Mannarino, while his 30th -ranked opponent eased through the first two rounds with straight set wins over Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 6-3 6-4 and James Ward 6-1 7-5 6-3.
Murray and Bellucci’s head to head record consists of only one match that took place on clay in the third round of the 2011 Madrid Masters. The latter came out trumps in that clash, beating his more illustrious opposition 6-4 6-2.
ATP Rankings:
Thomaz Bellucci: 30 (1,190 points)
Andy Murray: 3 (8,840 points)
Prediction: Andy Murray is the favourite to win this one although probably not in straight sets.
Tomas Berdych (6) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (31)
Thomas Berdych will face Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the third round of the US Open men’s singles event, after beating Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the first round and overcoming Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (2) 6-1 6-3 in the second round.
The 29-year-old's opposition is in the form of experienced Spaniard Garcia-Lopez, who finds himself in the third round after a five-set win over Janko Tipsarevic in the first round and a four-setter against Nicolas Mahut.
There have been five match-ups between the two since their first meeting in Round 1 of the 2007 Roland Garros, with two coming on hardcourts. Berdych was on the losing side in the first hardcourt match in the 2010 Shanghai Masters but won the last one in 2011, thrashing Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-2.
ATP Rankings:
Thomas Berdych: 6 (5,230 points)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: 31 (1,190 points)
Prediction: The sixth-seeded Czech to win in straight sets.
John Isner (13) vs Jiri Vesely
American John Isner and Czech Jiri Vesely will be competing in the third round of the men’s singles event at the US Open after they both won their second round matches against Mikhail Youzhny and Ivo Karlovic respectively.
World number 13 Isner seems to be in good nick as he has not yet dropped a set in the tournament, winning his opening round match against Malek Jaziri and beating Russian World number 93 Youzhny 6-3 6-4 6-4 in round 2. Jiri, on the other hand, was pushed all the way to the end during his thrilling five-set win over Croat Ivo Karlovic in the second round after easing to a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over 83rd ranked Italian Paolo Lorenzi in the first round.
No head to head records exists for this match-up, which means that it should be an intriguing contest to watch.
ATP Rankings:
John Isner: 13 (2,235 points)
Jiri Vesely: 48 (962 points)
Prediction: John Isner to take this one based on his recent form.
Bernard Tomic (24) vs Richard Gasquet (12)
22-year-old Bernard Tomic and 29-year-old Richard Gasquet stumbled past the first two rounds of the US Open men’s singles event to set up a tantalising third round match between the two on Day 6.
Neither has won in straight sets so far in the competition. Tomic beat Damir Dzhumhur in four sets in the first round and played out a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5 victory over a spirited Lleyton Hewitt in the second round, while his 29-year-old French opponent had to survive two five-set matches against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Robin Haase.
Gasquet has an advantage over the Australian in the head to head department, winning all three hardcourt fixtures the two have played since their first meeting in the quarters of the 2012 Bangkok tournament.
ATP Rankings:
Richard Gasquet: 12 (2,240 points)
Bernard Tomic: 24 (1,465 points)
Prediction: This one could go all the way to the fifth set, with Richard Gasquet to progress through.
Victoria Azarenka (20) vs Angelique Kerber (11)
Victoria Azarenka and world number 11 Angelique Kerber will be part of the women’s singles action in Round 3 of the US Open, which takes place in New York. The two players progressed to the third round after registering convincing victories in the initial rounds of the competition.
26-year-old Belarussian Azarenka dispatched Lucie Hradecka 6-1 6-2 in the first round before beating her second round opponent Yanina Wickmayer 7-5 6-4. Angelique also managed convincing victories in the first two rounds, first dismissing Alexandra Dulgheru following which she knocked out World number 34 Karin Kapp 7-5 6-2.
There have been four meetings on hardcourt surfaces between the two so far with Azarenka coming out on top in three occasions. She has beaten the German with conviction in those matches, and her only loss came due to her withdrawal from the quarter-final of a tournament in Tokyo in 2012.
WTA Rankings:
Victoria Azarenka: 20 (2,271 points)
Angelique Kerber: 11 (3,150 points)
Prediction: Despite Angelique being ranked higher, Azarenka should win this one due to her superior head to head record.
Shelby Rogers vs Simona Halep (2)
One of the biggest mismatches of the day comes in the form of the third round US Open women’s singles clash between Shelby Rogers and second ranked Simona Halep. The 22-year-old American is 152 places below her Romanian opponent and had to go through three rounds of qualifiers to be eligible to compete in the tournament, but has done very well for herself in the last grand slam of the tennis calendar.
Her progress to the third round was helped by straight-sets victories over Sachia Vickery in the first round and Kurumi Nara in the second, with her upcoming opponent qualifying for it by comfortably thrashing Marina Erakovic and Kateryna Bondarenko.
Shelby will be eagerly anticipating the match-up against Simona Halep, which will be their first head to head fixture ever.
WTA Rankings:
Shelby Rogers: 154 (347 points)
Simona Halep: 2 (6130)
Prediction: Halep to continue her progress towards a first grand slam by beating Shelby in straight-sets.
Petra Kvitova (4) vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (32)
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic has been impressive so far and looks likely to make it to the quarters, but she has to tackle 32nd ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the third round of the US Open women’s singles event. While the 25-year-old entered the tournament as the fifth seed, her good form over the past year has seen her move up one spot to number four.
She qualified for Round 3 by thrashing Laura Siegemund and Nicole Gibbs, and will meet 20-year-old Anna after the Slovak beat Julia Goerges 6-3 6-4 in the first round and Danka Kovinic 6-4 5-7 6-4 in the second.
The two ladies haven’t met on the WTA tour so far, so no head to head record for the two exists just yet.
WTA Rankings:
Petra Kvitova: 4 (4,995 points)
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova: 32 (1,451 points)
Prediction: The Czech to go through to the next round.
Andrea Petkovic (18) vs Johanna Konta
World number 18 Andrea Petkovic and the unseeded Johanna Konta will play against each other in Round 3 of the women’s singles event taking place on the sixth day of the US Open. The two players had to endure completely different paths towards the third round of the competition.
27-year-old Petkovic struggled to put away Caroline Garcia 3-6 6-4 7-5 in Round 1 and beat Elena Vesnina in straight sets to set up the clash with the 97th ranked Briton, who went through three rounds of qualifiers before beating Louisa Chirico 6-3 6-0 in the first round and stunning Spanish world number 9 Garbine Muguruza 7-6(4) 6-7(4) 6-2 in Round 2.
The hardcourt encounter between the two is their first one ever.
WTA Rankings:
Andrea Petkovic: 18 (2,450 points)
Johanna Konta: 97 (638 points)
Prediction: This encounter will be close despite nearly 80 places separating the two players, with Johanna Konta just about nicking the win.
Sara Errani (16) vs Samantha Stosur (22)
Sara Errani will take on Samantha Stosur in Round 3 of the women’s singles event at the US Open. The two players are only separated by six places in the WTA Rankings with Sara Errani in a higher position, but it has been Stosur who has shown better form in the tournament so far.
The Australian won her first round match against Timea Babos 6-3 6-4 and followed it up with a 6-1 6-1 humiliation of Evgeniya Rodina, while her Italian opposition dropped only one game against Mayo Hibi but struggled exhaustion to beat 114th ranked Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 0-6 6-4 6-3.
Sara and Samantha have had seven meetings since their first match in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Five of those fixtures have been played on hard court surfaces with the 31-year-old Stosur winning four of those meetings. However, she did lose her most recent clash against the 16th ranked Italian in the 2012 WTA Championships.
WTA Rankings:
Sara Errani: 16 (2,610 points)
Samantha Stosur: 22 (2,135 points)
Prediction: Samantha Stosur to win this one, although it will be closely fought affair.