Western & Southern Open 2016: Wednesday Scores, Results and Latest Schedule
With rainy conditions bringing delays in the first two days, Wednesday featured a packed schedule of tennis at the 2016 Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
Second-seeded Stan Wawrinka was picking up where he and Jared Donaldson left off after their second-round match got pushed back a day. Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic were among the stars on the men's singles side taking the court for the first time.
In the women's singles draw, Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep were opening their tournament play. With Serena Williams' withdrawal, the title race is wide-open.
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Below is a brief overview for Wednesday's play and a look ahead to Thursday.
Wednesday Results
| First | Nicolas Mahut def. Roberto Bautista Agut [15] | 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-3 |
| First | Marcel Granollers def. Jiri Vesely | 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 |
| First | Juan Monaco def. Ivo Karlovic | 6-4, 6-4 |
| First | Yuichi Sugita def. Alexander Zverev | 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 |
| Second | Stan Wawrinka [2] def. Jared Donaldson | 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Second | Rafael Nadal [3] def. Pablo Cuevas | 6-1, 7-6(4) |
| Second | Milos Raonic [4] def. John Isner | 7-6(5), 7-6(5) |
| Second | Kei Nishikori [5] def. Mikhail Youzhny | 6-3, 6-2 |
| Second | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [7] def. Reilly Opelka | 7-6(5), 7-6(3) |
| Second | Dominic Thiem [8] def. John Millman | 7-5, 6-1 |
| Second | Gael Monfils [9] def. Marcos Baghdatis | 7-5, 6-0 |
| Second | Bernard Tomic def. David Goffin [11] | 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 |
| Second | Grigor Dimitrov def. Feliciano Lopez [16] | 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) |
| Second | Marin Cilic [12] def. Fernando Verdasco | 6-3, 6-1 |
| Second | Kevin Anderson def. Richard Gasquet [13] | 6-2, 6-4 |
| Second | Borna Coric def. Nick Kyrgios [14] | 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(6) |
| Second | Steve Johnson def. Julien Benneteau | 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) |
| Second | Andy Murray [1] def. Juan Monaco | 6-3, 6-2 |
| Second | Yuichi Sugita def. Nicolas Mahut | 6-3, 7-5 |
| First | Johanna Larsson def. Irina-Camelia Begu | 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 |
| First | Andrea Petkovic def. Lucie Safarova | 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2 |
| First | Kurumi Nara def. Viktorija Golubic | 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 |
| First | Kristina Mladenovic def. Kateryna Bondarenko | 7-6(1), 6-3 |
| Second | Misaki Doi def. Christina McHale | 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Second | Barbora Strycova def. Samantha Stosur [14] | 7-6(11), 6-3 |
| Second | Roberta Vinci [6] def. Tsvetana Pironkova | 7-5, 6-3 |
| Second | Simona Halep [3] def. Annika Beck | 6-3, 6-1 |
| Second | Daria Gavrilova def. Elina Svitolina [17] | 6-2, 6-2 |
| Second | Johanna Konta [10] def. Donna Vekic | 6-2, 6-3 |
| Second | Timea Babos def. Belinda Bencic [13] | 7-5, 6-2 |
| Second | Garbine Muguruza [4] def. Coco Vandeweghe | 7-6(4), 6-2 |
| Second | Carla Suarez Navarro [9] def. Alize Cornet | 6-2, 1-0 (ret.) |
| Second | Agnieszka Radwanska [5] def. Andrea Petkovic | 6-0, 6-1 |
| Second | Timea Bacsinszky [12] def. Lesia Tsurenko | 6-3, 6-0 |
| Second | Angelique Kerber [2] def. Kristina Mladenovic | 6-0, 7-5 |
| Second | Svetlana Kuznetsova [7] def. Alison Riske | 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 |
Wednesday Recap
Nadal reached the semifinals of the 2016 Olympics' men's singles tournament, but Wednesday was the first time he played in an ATP World Tour event since the French Open.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion had little trouble with Pablo Cuevas in the first set but got pushed hard in the second and needed a tiebreaker to seal the victory. After the match, he talked about his satisfaction with advancing in the tournament.
"I think I played well, no?" Nadal said, per Shannon Russell and Keith BieryGolick of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I think I played a good match against a tough opponent in the first round for sure for me. After coming from Rio and the marathon that I had in Rio, it's [a] very important victory for me, no? So very happy."
Wawrinka, meanwhile, moved past Donaldson. He dropped the first set to the American qualifier but took a 3-0 lead in the second before their match had to be suspended until Wednesday. The Swiss won 16 of his 17 first-service points in the third set and capitalized on the only break-point opportunity in the final frame. That was enough to see him through to the third round.
The tournament's top seed, Andy Murray, beat Juan Monaco, but it wasn't without some difficulty. Murray won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, which was impressive given the fact he looked less than 100 percent, per the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg:
The U.S. Open begins in a little under two weeks. Murray will obviously want to make a deep run in Mason, but his health is more important. The last thing he needs is to be carrying a shoulder injury into Flushing Meadows, New York.
Kristina Mladenovic's reward for wrapping up her match with Kateryna Bondarenko on Wednesday was a second match in the same day against Kerber. Not surprisingly, Kerber advanced. Mladenovic had her chances, especially in the second set, forcing seven break-point opportunities. Kerber, though, staved off six of those break points.
Muguruza took on Coco Vandeweghe in a match that was supposed to be played Tuesday night. The delay didn't affect the French Open champion, who won in straight sets.
The first set was a bit nervy for Muguruza, who has suffered her fair share of disappointing losses in 2016. She took the tiebreaker, and her stone-faced reaction to winning the set made it clear she wanted to put Vandeweghe away in the second. The WTA shared a replay of Vandeweghe's unforced error to end the tiebreak:
Muguruza hasn't created many memories at the U.S. Open. She lost in the first round in 2012 and 2014 and only made it to the second round last year. A deep run in Mason could provide the impetus for her to turn her luck around in New York.
Thursday Schedule
| 11 a.m. ET | Grigor Dimitrov vs. Stan Wawrinka [2] | Men's Singles |
| Not Before 1 p.m. ET | Daria Gavrilova vs. Simona Halep [3] | Women's Singles |
| ----- | Borna Coric vs. Rafael Nadal [3] | Men's Singles |
| Not Before 7 p.m. ET | Andy Murray [1] vs. Kevin Anderson | Men's Singles |
| Not Before 8:30 p.m. ET | Agnieszka Radwanska [5] vs. Johanna Konta [10] | Women's Singles |
| 11 a.m. ET | Misaki Doi vs. Karolina Pliskova | Women's Singles |
| ----- | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [7] vs. Steve Johnson | Men's Singles |
| ----- | Barbora Strycova vs. Angelique Kerber [2] | Women's Singles |
| ----- | Milos Raonic [4] vs. Yuichi Sugita | Men's Singles |
| Not Before 7 p.m. ET | Tomas Berdych [6] vs. Marin Cilic [12] | Men's Singles |
| ----- | Maria Irigoyen/Oksana Kalashnikova vs. Hao-Ching Chan/Yung-Jan Chan [2] | Women's Doubles |
Wawrinka will be tested Thursday against Grigor Dimitrov, who upset No. 16-seeded Feliciano Lopez. Tennis commentator David Law was impressed by what he saw from Dimitrov:
"Cracking win for Dimitrov. 7-6 in 3rd over Lopez.
— DavidLaw (@DavidLawTennis) August 17, 2016"
The intensity of movement and general purpose was back. Bodes well.
Wawrinka next.
After losing his first two meetings with Wawrinka, Dimitrov is riding a three-match winning streak. They last played one another at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open. Dimitrov is far from consistent, but if everything is clicking, Wawrinka could be in store for a difficult match.
On the women's side, Agnieszka Radwanska will be tested in the third round against Johanna Konta. The two have yet to play at a WTA event, so it will be interesting to watch them clash for the first time.
Radwanska isn't exactly enjoying a strong run going back to her last few tournaments. She lost to Saisai Zheng in the first round of the Olympics and fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
Konta reached the Olympic quarterfinals before losing to Kerber, and she made another quarterfinal run at the Rogers Cup. The results haven't quite come after her semifinal appearance at the Australian Open. The Western & Southern Open is an opportunity for Konta to make a statement ahead of the U.S. Open.
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