US Open Tennis 2015: Upcoming Schedule, Analysis of Friday's Biggest Matches

The third round of the U.S. Open kicks off Friday with 16 matches on the upcoming schedule. 

Both of the world's No. 1 players on the men's and women's sides will be in action from Flushing Meadows as some of the game's best will try to knock them off of their perches. 

Here is Friday's upcoming schedule with a look at some of the most notable matches. 

Player	Player	Time (ET)	Venue
Elina Svitolina (7)	Ekaterina Makarova (13)	11 a.m.	Arthur Ashe Stadium
Belinda Bencic (12)	Venus Williams (23)	Not before 1 p.m.	Arthur Ashe Stadium
Novak Djokovic (1)	Andreas Seppi (25)	Following	Arthur Ashe Stadium
Serena Williams (1)	Bethanie Mattek-Sands	7 p.m.	Arthur Ashe Stadium
Fabio Fognini (32)	Rafael Nadal (8)	Following	Arthur Ashe Stadium
Marin Cilic (9)	Mikhail Kukushkin	11 a.m.	Louis Armstrong Stadium
Eugenie Bouchard (25)	Dominika Cibulkova	Following	Louis Armstrong Stadium
Jeremy Chardy (27)	David Ferrer (7)	Following	Louis Armstrong Stadium
Madison Keys (19)	Agnieszka Radwanska (15)	Following	Louis Armstrong Stadium
Daria Kasatkina	Kristina Mladenovic	11 a.m.	Grandstand
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (19)	Sergiy Stakhovsky	Following	Grandstand
Anett Kontaveit	Madison Brengle	Following	Grandstand
Milos Raonic (10)	Feliciano Lopez (18)	Not before 5 p.m.	Grandstand
Benoit Paire	Tommy Robredo (26)	11 a.m.	Court 17
Roberta Vinci	Mariana Duque-Marino	Following	Court 17
Roberto Bautista Agut (23)	David Goffin (14)	Following	Court 17

Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Andreas Seppi (25) 

If he hadn't lost to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open, the tennis world would be buzzing about Novak Djokovic joining Serena Williams as the two players who are going for a sweep of Grand Slam events in a calendar year.

Three out of four would not be so bad, though, as the world's best men's tennis player has a nice draw waiting for him in the third round. In 10 previous matches against Italian Andreas Seppi, Djokovic has won all of them. 

Djokovic spoke about Seppi after his win Wednesday over Andreas Haider-Maurer (via TheGuardian.com):

"

Seppi is someone who has been around for many years. He has a very solid game from the back of the court. If you allow him to play, he can play well...He's not going to get overwhelmed by the occasion.

"

Seppi, though, struggled in his second-round match against Teymuraz Gabashvili, winning in four sets. He is not exactly looking forward to facing Djokovic. He told the Guardian that his confidence is "very low. If I play like this, maybe I can win a few points. So, yeah, not pretty confident."

He's not the only one who is sure that Djokovic will move. TennisReporters.net's Matt Cronin is already mapping out the rest of Djokovic's U.S. Open journey:

It already seems like Seppi is admitting defeat without even taking the court. But Djokovic will still be wary of his opponent as he looks for his first U.S. Open title since 2011.

Look for Djokovic to come out aggressively and dictate the pace of the match. With Seppi's mindset, I'd be surprised if this match goes past three sets. 

Serena Williams (1) vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Djokovic is just the opening act for Friday's main event. Women's No. 1 Serena Williams will take the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at 7 p.m. ET. 

Williams is going for the Grand Slam sweep in a calendar year having already won Wimbledon and the French and Australian Opens. She's looking to be the first women's player to do so since Steffi Graf in 1988. 

Fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands looks to be her next victim Friday, as Williams has been flat-out rolling in majors. Her second-round win over Kiki Bertens was her 30th straight in Grand Slam events despite a slow start that saw her trailing 3-5 in the first set. 

Mattek-Sands will try to slow Williams down further, as she tells Nick McCarvel of USAToday.com.

"I’m focused on me and how I play," Mattek-Sands said. “I know how Serena’s going to come. She plays aggressive, big."

It's that aggressive, big play that saw Williams defeat Mattek-Sands in their two previous matches. But Williams knows that Friday won't be easy, she told McCarvel.

In a way that is a relief for her: "Knowing that she's capable of having big wins kind of relaxes me because I know she's going to come out and I know what to expect," she said. "She's going to give 300 percent. She's a huge fighter."

If Williams' aggressive play is off in any way, she might be trying to dig herself out of a deficit similar to the one she faced against Bertens. But as she inches closer to the possibility of a fourth-consecutive Grand Slam title in 2015, it would be downright impossible to think that she could trip up in the round of 32. The only thing that could possibly stop her is the pressure that comes with making history.

Follow Joe Pantorno (@JoePantorno) on Twitter. 

Stats courtesy of USOpen.org