US Open Tennis 2016 Schedule: Women's, Men's Finals TV, Live-Stream Coverage
The hard work has been completed in the U.S. Open, and now it's left to the final four players remaining in the New York tournament to fight for the national championship.
Second-seeded Angelique Kerber and 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova will compete for the women's title Saturday at approximately 3 p.m. ET.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic will try to defend the title he won last year when he meets Stan Wawrinka in the men's final Sunday afternoon.
Kerber is the favorite to win the women's title after earning the No. 1 ranking when Serena Williams lost to Pliskova in the semifinals Thursday night.
Kerber is minus-166 (bet $166 to win $100) to win her second Grand Slam title of the year, according to Odds Shark, while Pliskova is plus-146 to earn her first U.S. Open championship.
In her straight-set semifinal victory over Caroline Wozniacki, Kerber used a strategic approach to win the match. Instead of trying to hit winners on every shot, she was content to keep the ball in play and let Wozniacki make mistakes.
Kerber explained to Peter Bodo of ESPNW she had often been done in by her own poor shots in the past, and that was a key to her strategy changes:
| Angelique Kerber (2) vs. Karolina Pliskova (10) | Sept. 10 | 4 p.m. (Approx.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Stan Wawrinka (3) | Sept. 11 | 4 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
"I lost a lot of matches with this [negativity] stuff, because I was frustrated. When I missed one shot I was like thinking about the shot the next few minutes and few shots. But in this moment [when I lose a point] I'm really trying to be mentally strong and not showing my opponent that I'm inside actually a little bit more negative and nervous.
"
That game plan may not work with Pliskova, who used her power on her serve and ground strokes to defeat Serena Williams in the semifinals and Venus Williams earlier in the tournament.
Pliskova is not likely to be intimidated. She has won 11 straight matches, and that includes a victory over Kerber in the W&S Cincinnati Open final prior to the U.S. Open.
On the men's side, Djokovic powered his way into the final with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, victory over Frenchman Gael Monfils in his semifinal match Friday afternoon.
Djokovic, who came into the tournament with injuries to his left wrist and right arm, seemed to be a much more serious player than Monfils.
There were moments throughout the match that Monfils appeared to be playing possum before charging back and winning a string of games.
"At times in decisive, tense moments, we had many exchanges form the baseline," Djokovic said in his on-court interview, per ESPN.com's Greg Garber. "Gael is very entertaining to watch, a very charismatic guy. I do sincerely hope all you guys enjoyed our battle today."
Former champion and current analyst John McEnroe was highly critical of Monfils' tactics, saying on air his play bordered on being "unprofessional."
"The Men's Final is set:
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) September 10, 2016"
[1] Djokovic vs. [3] Wawrinka#USOpen pic.twitter.com/1voUz3CH07
Wawrinka dropped the first set of his match to Japan's Kei Nishikori before he came on strong to win the match in four sets. As a result of winning the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2, Wawrinka advanced to his third career final in a Grand Slam event.
Wawrinka is 2-0 in his previous attempts, having won at the Australian Open in 2014 and at Roland Garros in 2015.
Nishkiori appeared to grow fatigued in a match that was played in 82 percent humidity.
"I had to wait," Wawrinka said in an on-court interview after the match, per David Waldstein of the New York Times. "I had to fight, try to play harder. He also started to get tired a little bit and that is when I started to be more aggressive."
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