US Open Tennis 2015: TV Schedule, Picks for Wednesday Afternoon Draw
The wheels are well in motion at the 2015 U.S. Open, and already we’ve seen some immaculate tennis from some of the finest players in the world. Wednesday’s schedule will see some of the prime exponents in action, as they bid to book their spot in the next round.
Serena Williams will be the star attraction in the afternoon session as she looks to continue her march toward a calendar Grand Slam in the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the men’s draw, the man to look out for this afternoon will be Rafael Nadal, who was rejuvenated in his Round 1 win over Borna Coric.
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Here is the schedule for the main courts early on Wednesday, a prediction for each match and detailed look at the aforementioned tennis legends.
| Madison Keys (USA) [19] | vs. | Tereza Smitkova (CZE) | Keys |
| Marin Cilic (CRO) [9] | vs. | Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) | Cilic |
| Serena Williams (USA) [1] | vs. | Kiki Bertens (NED) | Williams |
| Mardy Fish (USA) | vs. | Feliciano Lopez (ESP) [18] | Fish |
| Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) | vs. | Coco Vandeweghe (USA) | Mattek-Sands |
| Rafael Nadal (ESP) [8] | vs. | Diego Schwartzman (ARG) | Nadal |
| Madison Brengle (USA) | vs. | Anna Tatishvili (USA) | Brengle |
| Milos Raonic (CAN) [10] | vs. | Fernando Verdasco (ESP) | Raonic |
| Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [25] | vs. | Polona Hercog (SLO) | Bouchard |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [19] | vs. | Marcel Granollers (ESP) | Tsonga |
| Filip Krajinovic (SRB) | vs. | David Ferrer (ESP) [7] | Ferrer |
| Magda Linette (POL) | vs. | Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [15] | Radwanska |
| Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) | vs. | Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [17] | Dimitrov |
For the draw in full, check out the tournament's official website.
Play scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (ET). Matches live on ESPN (US) and Sky Sports (UK).
Serena Williams
As far as Round 1 matches go, Williams’ win over Vitalia Diatchenko was as emphatic as it could possibly get.
Although the Russian was clearly well below her best and eventually retired, she was blown away by the power and panache of the world No. 1. It’s no surprise to see Serena on it from the off; as noted below by SportsCenter, she has an almost-impeccable record when it comes to the opening matches of major tournaments:
The match against Kiki Bertens may not pose too much more of a problem, either. Although she beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets in Round 1, the Netherlands star was ranked 110th in the world coming into this tournament and has never gotten beyond Round 2 of the U.S. Open.
She seemed pleased and relaxed in the aftermath of her opening win, however, per her personal Twitter account:
Bertens is a huge hitter of the ball at her best, and if she can execute an aggressive game plan, she is capable of causing Williams some problems. After all, we have often seen players raise their levels when up against the American star.
But there’s an aura about Serena at the moment. Even when opponents play the match of their lives against her, somehow, someway, she finds a way to get over the line. After a sharp start from her opponent in this one, expect the top seed to take control and secure a comfortable eventual victory.
Prediction: Williams def. Bertens (6-3, 6-1)
Rafael Nadal
Being seeded eighth must be peculiar for Nadal, who has won two of the last five U.S. Open titles. But he has not been at his brilliant best in 2015 so far, and it means he’ll face a tough task if he’s to make it to the final stages of the competition.
Encouragingly, the Spaniard is a player who looked galvanised in Round 1. Nadal nabbed a four-set win against promising teenager Coric, and although his levels did drop a little in the third stanza, the 29-year-old’s serving was sound, and his groundstrokes bristled.
As noted here by ESPN Stats & Info, when Nadal gets in front, he’s still one of the toughest players in the world to get the better of:
Diego Schwartzman is the man who’ll be up against the two-time champion. The Argentine player made it through to Round 2 with an accomplished straight-sets win over Elias Ymer, making it his best-ever display at the U.S. Open. He should also take some heart from Dustin Brown—then-ranked 102 in the world, per BBC Sport—dumping Nadal out of Wimbledon in the second round.
But as we can see here, courtesy of Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, Nadal has proven to be a tough man to beat at this tournament:
On paper, the clash against Coric was a more difficult one for Rafa. Schwartzman will certainly fancy his chances and will be keen to get in front and capitalise on the fragile confidence Nadal has shown at times this year. But he doesn’t seem to have the weapons to pose big problems for the 16-time Grand Slam champion.
Part of that is down to Nadal’s assurance on these courts, and he's also made improvements in his game as of late. So don’t expect a repeat of Wimbledon here for the popular Spaniard.
Prediction: Nadal def. Schwartzman (7-6, 6-4, 6-3)
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