US Open Tennis 2015: Men's Semifinal TV Schedule, Start Times and Picks
It's semifinal Friday at the 2015 U.S. Open.
Following a pair of women's semifinal contests earlier in the day that were postponed from Thursday night, the men's top stars will battle under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Roger Federer both look to make it one step further to set up an all-chalk men's final, but before they'll have to overcome serious tests.
Let's take a look at how to catch all of Friday's men's semifinal action, and who to expect in both contests.
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| 5 p.m. | No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 9 Marin Cilic | ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 5 Stan Wawrinka | ESPN |
Live streaming available at WatchESPN.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 9 Marin Cilic
It's not very often that Djokovic makes it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam, only to face an opponent that he's undefeated against in more than a dozen meetings. But Marin Cilic poses a much bigger threat than that.
Sure, the Croatian may be a lowly 0-13 all time against his counterpart for Friday's match. But while it's safe to say Djokovic has his opponent's number, it's even safer to say Cilic is playing some of his best tennis.
Of course, the 26-year-old is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows after his shocking run to the title a year ago. He looks poised to defend that title after getting past Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy.
One thing to expect from Cilic is aggressiveness in attacking the net, one of the ways in which he can fluster Djokovic. But the nine-time Grand Slam singles champion is ready for the challenge, per ATPWorldTour.com:
"I'm sure (Cilic) is not going to start coming to the net after every ball, but I'm sure he's going to try to be aggressive, going to try to take his chances. That's how he won last year. I watched him play. He played great. Best tennis of his life. This is where he loves playing. He loves the conditions on Arthur Ashe. As I said, I'm going to try to use that advantage and having success against him in the past to my favour.
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This time a year ago, Cilic was putting together some truly remarkable tennis that had even the Big Four shaking in their boots. He's playing quite well again, but not nearly at the level capable of stopping Djokovic.
When it comes down to it, Cilic hasn't even taken a set off of Djokovic since the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinals. Save for a shocking French Open final defeat to Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic has been unstoppable in 2015 and that will continue in a four-set victory.
Prediction: Djokovic 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 5 Stan Wawrinka
There may not be a single pair of elite men's tennis stars who have more camaraderie than Wawrinka and Federer, Switzerland's two best athletes from the sport. But they'll have to put that in the rearview mirror for a night, with a spot in the U.S. Open final on the line.
Wawrinka is no stranger to playing in the shadows of Federer, as the 30-year-old has undergone much of his career in relative darkness while Federer has won 17 major titles. That has began to change, however, as Wawrinka has taken two Grand Slam titles in the past 18 months.
The blistering baseline power of Wawrinka has doomed many of his opponents over that span, but it's the familiarity he has with Federer that has the Swiss great on edge, per ESPN.com's Peter Bodo:
""Of course, subconsciously you know that he knows what your preferences are," Federer said. "Where you like to go, where you're probably going to go. Probably he feels the same way. That's the weird part. I feel we meet each other somewhere in our minds before the point is being played out."
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The respect undoubtedly goes both ways for these tennis stars, and that may be an understatement as far as Wawrinka is concerned. He's more than just a mentor and a fellow countryman—he's a legend, as Wawrinka told U.S. Open:
There's little doubt that Wawrinka is firing on all cylinders. He's only dropped a single set all tournament, winning four of his five contests thus far in straight sets.
But does he have enough to take down Federer? That will require a near-perfect performance with how the ageless 34-year-old has looked throughout the tournament.
Expect a five-set thriller in which Federer has just enough in the tank to force his way into the final.
Prediction: Federer 4-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
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