US Open Tennis 2015: TV Schedule, Picks for Sunday Afternoon Draw
Defending champions Serena Williams and Marin Cilic headline a star-studded day of fourth-round action in the 2015 U.S. Open on Sunday.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams are also among those to take to the stage at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, so it's set to be another unmissable day of Grand Slam tennis.
For those in the U.S., ESPN and Tennis Channel are providing full coverage of the proceedings, while in the UK, Sky Sports and Eurosport are doing the same.
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Here's the full TV schedule for the day's action and picks for each clash.
| 8 a.m. | / | Breakfast at the Open | Tennis Channel | |
| 11 a.m. | 4 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN 2, ESPN 3 | Eurosport, Sky Sports |
| Marin Cilic (CRO) [9] | vs. | Jeremy Chardy (FRA) [27] | Chardy |
| Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] | vs. | Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) [23] | Djokovic |
| Benoit Paire (FRA) | vs. | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [19] | Tsonga |
| Feliciano Lopez (ESP) [18] | vs. | Fabio Fognini (ITA) [32] | Lopez |
| Venus Williams (USA) [23] | vs. | Anett Kontaveit (EST) | Williams |
| Serena Williams (USA) [1] | vs. | Madison Keys (USA) [19] | Williams |
| Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) | vs. | Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [13] | Mladenovic |
| Roberta Vinci (ITA) | vs. | Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [25] | Vinci |
Williams has endured a more difficult run to the fourth round than many would have anticipated.
Kiki Bertens took her to a tiebreaker in the first set of their second-round clash, while the world No. 1 was forced to make a dramatic comeback to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the previous round as she won 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.
The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg believes her rallying performance in the second set showed just why she's on course for a calendar Grand Slam:
Indeed, the 33-year-old showed her class in a difficult match and responded magnificently after her early setback as she strolled through the final set in just 25 minutes. The American also wowed the crowd with this outrageous winner:
The 21-time Grand Slam winner admits the pressure is on as she bids to make history at Flushing Meadows, but she insists she remains focused on the task at hand.
Per Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press, via Yahoo Sport, she said: "I mean, of course it's there. I'm not a robot or anything. But at the end of the day I'm just here to do the best I can. If that means I win, then great. But if it doesn't, then you know what? I can't let that affect me."
Williams will face her most difficult opponent of the competition so far as she takes on 19th-seed Madison Keys, who dismissed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2 in the last round.
Keys is yet to drop a set at this year's tournament and will be full of confidence after cruising past Radwanska in style.
Like Williams, the 20-year-old is not letting her opponent's run at a calendar Slam affect her. Per Fendrich, she said:
"What am I going to say? 'I want her to beat me?'. I mean, yeah, I want to go out and I want to win. I mean, obviously it's a big story: She's won four [major titles] in a row and she's going for the calendar-year [Slam]. That's great, but at the same time I want to win. So I'd be OK with beating her, yeah.
"
Williams' exertions in the last round could take their toll as she takes on the youthful and energetic Keys in what could well be a hard-fought contest.
However, the world No. 1's experience, staggering resilience and sheer determination to win can see her pull through and potentially meet sister Venus in the next round.
Fellow defending champion Cilic could be in for a similarly tough match when he takes on Jeremy Chardy.
Nevertheless, Ben Rothenberg notes the draw could have been much tougher on the ninth seed:
Even so, the Croatian faces an in-form opponent on Day 7. Chardy beat seventh-seed David Ferrer in four sets in the previous round, dropping just four games in the final two.
By contrast, Cilic required a titanic effort to overcome the impressive Mikhail Kukushkin in a five-set epic, which included three tiebreakers. As ESPN Stats & Info highlighted, the match was understandably a particularly lengthy affair:
Being pushed to five sets before the business end of the tournament will be a concern for Cilic with plenty of tennis potentially still ahead of him against even tougher opponents.
The pair have met twice before, winning one apiece.
According to the U.S. Open's official website, Cilic won just seven of 20 break points against Kukushkin—a mere 35 percent. If the defending champion is similarly lacking his cutting edge on Sunday, Chardy will be presented with an excellent opportunity.
The Croatian will need to try to win this one early. If it goes to four or five sets, expect Chardy to have the physical edge over his increasingly tiring opponent.
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