US Open Tennis 2015: TV Schedule, Picks for Friday Afternoon Draw
With two matches already under his belt, Novak Djokovic is out of the warm-up stage in the U.S. Open.
He has started his journey in earnest, and the goal is to come up with the victory in the top tournament in the United States. If Djokovic is successful, he will have earned his third Grand Slam title of the year. He has already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but he fell short against Stan Wawrinka in the French Open.
The top-seeded Djokovic moves to the third round Friday against Andreas Seppi of Italy, the 25th-seeded player in the tournament. This is Djokovic's first match against a seeded player, and it's clear that he is going to have to pick up his play from this point forward.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Date: Friday, September 4
TV Times (ET): 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Live Stream: ESPN3 (11 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET)
Djokovic's match headlines the action in New York during the day, but Serena Williams will return to action Friday night against Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Prior to Serena taking the court, her sister Venus Williams will play a third-round match against rising star Belinda Bencic.
Djokovic has enjoyed a brilliant season in 2015, with five tournament victories under his belt and a 41-3 match record.
| Elina Svitolina (17) | Ekaterina Makarova (13) | Arthur Ashe Stadium | 11 a.m. | Makarova |
| Venus Williams (23) | Belinda Bencic (12) | Arthur Ashe Stadium | 1 p.m. | Williams |
| Novak Djokovic (1) | Andreas Seppi (25) | Arthur Ashe Stadium | 3 p.m. | Djokovic |
| Marin Cilic (9) | Mikhail Kukushkin | Louis Armstrong Stadium | 11 a.m.. | Cilic |
| Eugenie Bouchard (25) | Dominika Cibulkova | Louis Armstrong Stadium | 1 p.m. | Bouchard |
| Jeremy Chardy (27) | David Ferrer (7) | Louis Armstrong Stadium | 3 p.m. | Ferrer |
| Daria Kasatkina | Kristina Mladenovic | Grandstand | 11 a.m. | Mladenovic |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (19) | Sergiy Stakhovsky | Grandstand | 1 p.m. | Tsonga |
| Anett Kontaveit | Madison Brengle | Grandstand | 3 p.m. | Brengle |
| Benoit Paire | Tommy Robredo (26) | Court 17 | 11 a.m. | Robredo |
| Roberta Vinci | Mariana Duque-Marino | Court 17 | 1 p.m. | Vinci |
| Roberto Bautista Agut (23) | David Goffin (14) | Court 17 | 3 p.m. | Goffin |
When he takes the court Friday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the third match of the day (approximately 3 p.m. ET), he will find a much more capable opponent than he did in either the first or second round. Djokovic pounded Joao Souza 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in his opening match and was pushed only slightly harder in the second round by Andreas Haider-Maurer, whom he defeated 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
Djokovic celebrated with a New York City tennis fan after his second-round victory.
"Djokovic dances with a fan on court after win --> http://t.co/gdMkpRxj84 pic.twitter.com/BjqAgHrj8E
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 3, 2015"
Seppi, 31, is the 25th-rated player on the men's tour. He has a 13-10 record this season, and while he has three tournament victories in his career, none have come this year.
He has gotten off to an excellent start at the U.S. Open with a straight-set triumph over Tommy Paul in the first round and a four-set triumph over Teymuraz Gabashvili.
Seppi is rarely intimidated, and he is capable of playing with the top players in the world. He defeated Roger Federer in the third round of the Australian Open, and he would like to stop the top-seeded Djokovic in the third round of the U.S. Open.
Stopping Djokovic is the most difficult of assignments because of his athleticism, creativity and skill. Seppi needs to start out strong and not let Djokovic capture the early momentum if he wants to have a legitimate chance to win.
Venus Williams has one tournament victory to her credit this year, along with a 24-10 record. She has been pushed hard in her first two matches, needing three sets to beat both Monica Puig and Irina Falconi.
She is the 23rd seed in the tournament, and she faces a tough opponent in Bencic, the 12th seed at the U.S. Open. Those two will play in the second match of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium (approximately 1 p.m. ET)
"U.S. Open Day 3 after dark: Venus advances and Bencic battles back to win http://t.co/HXshPmsX84 pic.twitter.com/BGg9tuLMdG
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 3, 2015"
Bencic came into her own earlier this summer when the 18-year-old defeated Serena Williams in the semifinal round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and followed that up with a victory in the championship round over Simona Halep.
This is clearly a match where Venus will try to use her savvy and experience to gain an edge over her youthful opponent. Bencic lost a bit of control in her second-round, three-set victory over Japan's Misaki Doi, and the pressure of playing in the U.S. Open could cause stress for the Swiss up-and-comer.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
