US Open Tennis 2015: TV Schedule, Predicting Results for Sunday Night Draw
The deeper the 2015 U.S. Open, the more vulnerable the biggest stars in the men's and women's draws figure to be to getting upset in the season's Grand Slam finale.
Sunday night's action at Flushing Meadows in New York City will see several players deserving of prime-time billing take the hard courts in the quest to clinch a major quarterfinals bid. Top men's seed Novak Djokovic will look to continue his run toward a third Grand Slam title of the year. No. 13 Ekaterina Makarova is the highest women's seed on the evening slate.
It's unclear whether 25th seed Eugenie Bouchard will play after she withdrew from women's and mixed doubles due to a head injury suffered from a fall in the locker room, per USOpen.org's Richard Osborn. Bouchard is on the verge of breakout stardom at age 21 and has a tough decision looming.
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Wishing the best to Bouchard, let's take a look at the schedule of matches and break down the ones that will most certainly take place in prime time in the Big Apple.
| No. 25 Eugenie Bouchard vs. Roberta Vinci | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Vinci wins in 2 sets |
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 | Djokovic wins in 3 sets |
| No. 13 Ekaterina Makarova vs. Kristina Mladenovic | Following Djokovic vs. Bautista Agut | ESPN2 | Makarova wins in 2 sets |
Predictions for Marquee Matches
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut
How's this for a stark contrast: Djokovic is trying to qualify for his 26th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, per ESPN Tennis; Bautista Agut is in Round 4 for the second year in a row at this event, still searching for his first major quarterfinal.
That fact alone provides perspective as to how lopsided this showdown figures to be. It will still be worth taking in for Djokovic's brilliance against a player who simply doesn't have enough firepower on groundstrokes or a precise-enough serve to hang tough.
As ATPWorldTour.com points out, Bautista Agut has lost 13 consecutive matches to players ranked in the top 10. Perhaps against an adversary who wasn't among the true elite, the Spaniard would have a chance. However, Djokovic is simply playing too well right now to stumble at this stage.
Having dropped only two games on serve in three matches, Djokovic hasn't left much room for his opponents to have hope.
Craig O'Shannessy of the New York Times highlights how incredible Djokovic has been as a counterpuncher as well:
Before Djokovic's potential encounter with Roger Federer in the finals to avenge his loss to King Roger in the Cincinnati Masters title tilt, he has to take care of business. The tennis equivalent of a trap game is on tap, but Djokovic clearly has bigger fish to fry, as the saying goes.
Djokovic is on a semifinals collision course with defending champion Marin Cilic, whom he didn't even have a chance to face in losing to Kei Nishikori in the 2014 semis. The Serbinator isn't going to be denied under the lights Sunday night.
Prediction: Djokovic wins, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5
No. 13 Ekaterina Makarova vs. Kristina Mladenovic
Upsets have been rampant in the women's draw, so even though less proven players are making it deeper into this year's U.S. Open, they can be just as dangerous riding a wave of momentum. That's why Makarova has to remain sharp off an impressive win over 17th seed Elina Svitolina.
Mladenovic is only 22 years old and has won two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles. Her success in singles has manifested rather recently—and she has yet to drop a set in Queens.
That goes to show what confidence can do for someone like Mladenovic, who has had little trouble making her best singles run in a major to date.
"It's a dream for all of us to compete and do really [well] at Slams," she said after advancing to the Round of 16, per Tennis Now.
But Makarova was sharp against another young rising star in Svitolina and has the track record to suggest she can bring Mladenovic's stellar U.S. Open effort to an abrupt halt. ESPN Tennis highlighted how Makarova was in attack mode and undaunted versus her last opponent:
"It's a battle on Arthur Ashe Stadium as No.13 seed Makarova fires off 19 winners en route to winning the opening set 6-3 vs. Svitolina.
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) September 4, 2015"
Sunday's match favorite advanced to the semifinals in last year's tournament, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.
The run of upsets has certainly helped Williams' cause to complete the calendar Grand Slam and win her fourth straight U.S. Open title. Makarova is among the only ones who likely can give her some sort of challenge along the way.
A doubles background translates well to the hard courts for Mladenovic. She is accustomed to volleying and crashing the net with more aggressive tactics, which leads to shorter points. Mladenovic's serving velocity and resultant upside is also greater than that of Makarova.
If Mladenovic goes to the net as effectively as she did in Round 3 against Daria Kasatkina in winning 17 of 20 such points and registers a solid first-serve percentage, this match could get interesting. It's impossible to discount Makarova's experience and overall consistency, though. She should be able to prevail in two sets that figure to be tightly contested, with one even going to a tiebreaker.
Prediction: Makarova wins, 7-6, 6-4
Note: Stats courtesy of USOpen.org unless otherwise indicated.
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