US Open Tennis TV Schedule 2015: Tournament Viewing Info and Early Predictions
Over the past few years, the U.S. Open has developed into perhaps the one Grand Slam event tennis fans can count on to add variety in the late stages. Roger Federer used to own the tournament, winning it five times in a row from 2004-08. However, the U.S. Open has delivered some shock results in recent years.
Last year, Marin Cilic earned his first major title after defeating Kei Nishikori in the championship match. Novak Djokovic has been a regular in the U.S. Open final, but he's only captured the title once in his past four championship matches in Flushing Meadows, New York, losing to Andy Murray once and Rafael Nadal twice. Even Juan Martin del Potro picked up a win in 2009.
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While tennis' Big Four has regularly been in the title mix this year, one has to wonder if we won't see another face on the elite periphery pick up a win in 2015.
| August 31 | 1-6 p.m. | First Round | ESPN |
| 6-11 p.m. | First Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 1 | 1-11 p.m. | First Round | ESPN |
| Sept. 2 | 1-6 p.m.. | Second Round | ESPN |
| 6-11 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 3 | 1-5 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN |
| 5-11 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 4 | 1-6 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN |
| 6-11 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 5 | 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 6 | 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 7 | 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 8 | 12-11 p.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN |
| Sept. 9 | 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN |
| 8-11 p.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 10 | 7-11 p.m. | Women's Semifinals | ESPN |
| Sept. 11 | 3-11 p.m. | Men's Semifinals | ESPN |
| Sept. 12 | 3-6 p.m. | Women's Finals | ESPN |
| Sept. 13 | 4-7 p.m. | Men's Finals | ESPN |
For those looking to catch as much of the U.S. Open action as possible, here's an outline of the tournament's television schedule, followed by some early predictions for a few top players in the field.
Early U.S. Open Predictions
Andy Murray vs. Nick Kyrgios
This is as close to a blockbuster matchup as one can expect in the first round of any tournament, let alone a Grand Slam.
Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios have produced some exciting, explosive tennis in their three professional meetings. Murray's won all three of those contests handily and is yet to drop a set against the contentious Aussie.
Kyrgios is in a spot of trouble coming into the U.S. Open, playing under a suspended 28-day ban for inappropriate comments directed toward Stan Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup in early August. He's struggled to make much of an impact in recent tournaments, with a trip to the fourth round at Wimbledon his best result since earning runner-up status at the Estoril Open in May.
Murray has enjoyed plenty of success this year in general, but facing Kyrgios looks to be a difficult first step in what could be a particularly nasty draw for the Scotsman, per Simon Briggs of the Sydney Morning Herald:
"As it happens, this will be the third time this year that these two players have met in a grand slam. Thus far, Murray has avoided the pitfalls that have resulted in both Nadal and Roger Federer joining the distinguished list of Kyrgios' scalps. As the most successful player in the build-up events, Murray would claim a $1m bonus if he could land his second US Open title in just over a fortnight's time. But his draw looks challenging, even if he can get past Kyrgios.
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Serena Will Complete her Slam
There is an aura of inevitability surrounding Serena Williams these days. The world's most dominant athlete is looking to complete a single-season Grand Slam, win her second U.S. Open in a row and capture her 22nd Grand Slam title overall, which would tie her with Steffi Graf for the most by a woman in the Open Era.
Williams is facing another stacked woman's field at the U.S. Open, but really, who dares to suggest she will falter? Williams is a staggering 48-2 on the year in singles play. Belinda Bencic managed to topple her in the semifinals at the Rogers Cup, but Williams simply came back to wreak havoc at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. She dropped just two sets in five matches, defeating the excellent Simona Halep in the final, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
If anyone is going to defeat Williams in her home country, it might have to be a fellow compatriot. Nick McCarvel, special to USA Today, notes a potential murderers' row of American talent potentially awaits Williams:
"The world No. 1 has a potential path that includes almost every female American tennis player of note: Sloane Stephens or CoCo Vandeweghe in the third round; Madison Keys in the fourth round; and sister Venus in the quarterfinals.
Serena Williams, chasing the calendar Grand Slam which hasn't been done in tennis since Steffi Graf won all four in 1988, was handed one of her toughest roads at a Slam in Thursday's draw. After a first-round encounter with world No. 86 Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, things only get harder, including a potential second-round opponent in hard-hitting Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
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Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens and CoCo Vandeweghe are all exciting young pros, no doubt, but Williams can lean on past results for comfort. She is a combined 9-1 against that trio, with the only loss coming to Stephens.
Venus presents a different challenge, but Serena's gotten the better of her elder sister in six of their past seven meetings and leads 15-11 overall. The likes of Halep or Maria Sharapova could prove to be late-stage trouble for Williams, but she has the tools, tenacity and talent to overcome any foes on her way to history.
Novak Djokovic Will Win His Third Major Title of the Year
Djokovic's resume is a bit more modest than Williams', so his tournament run won't see him carrying along the crushing weight of history in New York. He's simply going for his third major of the year after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
As previously noted, Djokovic has been a fixture late in the U.S. Open over the past few years, but he might be a bit more vulnerable than usual coming into this contest.
The ageless Federer defeated him 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 in the Western and Southern Open final on August 23, but the Swiss legend hasn't reached the final at the U.S. Open since Del Potro ended his five-year run of brilliance.
| 2009 | Final | Juan Martin Del Potro |
| 2010 | Semifinal | Novak Djokovic |
| 2011 | Semifinal | Novak Djokovic |
| 2012 | Quarterfinal | Tomas Berdych |
| 2013 | Fourth Round | Tommy Robredo |
| 2014 | Semifinal | Marin Cilic |
This hard-court tournament has a distinctly wide-open feel on the men's side, and there are plenty of players capable of making a surprise run to the final like Cilic and Nishikori did last year. ESPN.com's Peter Bodo likes Grigor Dimitrov as a dark-horse pick:
"Grigor Dimitrov, seeded No. 17, has been struggling. But he's extremely talented and just 24 years old. He's lost some very close matches in recent weeks. To make matters worse, Dimitrov is in the same quarter as last year's Cinderella finalists, No. 4 seed Kei Nishikori and No. 9 Marin Cilic. But the Bulgarian has the game to beat them both -- and everyone else as well.
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A breakthrough for Dimitrov at the U.S. Open would do wonders for his status in tennis, but this won't be his year. Djokovic's past missteps should only serve as fuel for another run to the title. He's 41-3 this year with five singles titles overall, hardly the sign of a player lacking in form despite a recent loss to an all-time great.
There is still greater parity in men's tennis overall, with Federer still a threat but no longer winning majors and Nadal suffering through an off year. But when people look back on the year of Serena, they will note Djokovic was having a grand time at Grand Slams as well.
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