US Open Tennis 2016: Schedule, Dates, Times, Live Stream and Predictions
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic will have his work cut out for him if he wants to repeat as U.S. Open champion. The 29-year-old Serbian is dealing with a nagging wrist injury and suffered shock early exits at both Wimbledon and the Olympics.
Of course, if anyone is capable of righting the ship in short time and powering through a major tournament, it's the sublime Djokovic.
For Serena Williams, the women's top seed, this year's event is an opportunity to rebound from her stunning loss to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows, New York, in 2015. Williams was two wins away from completing the rare calendar Grand Slam, but Vinci ruined her chance at history (of course, Williams has made other historic achievements since then).
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Flavia Pennetta, now retired, went on to beat Vinci in the final for the only Grand Slam title of her career.
The U.S. Open begins Monday and will culminate in the men's singles final on September 11. WatchESPN has it covered when it comes to live-streaming the event, with individual court cams, Spanish-language broadcasts and of course a live stream of the television coverage running on ESPN and ESPN2.
Here's a look at the TV schedule, followed by predictions for the winners of the men's and women's singles draws.
| Aug. 29 | 1 p.m. | First Round | ESPN |
| 6 p.m. | First Round | ESPN | |
| Aug. 30 | 1 p.m. | First Round | ESPN |
| Aug. 31 | 1 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN |
| 6 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 1 | 1 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN |
| 6 p.m. | Second Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 2 | 1 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN |
| 6 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 3 | 11 a.m., 7 p.m. | Third Round | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 4 | 11 a.m., 7 p.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 5 | 11 a.m., 7 p.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 6 | Noon, 7 p.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN |
| Sept. 7 | Noon | Quarterfinals | ESPN |
| 7 p.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Sept. 8 | 7 p.m. | Women's Semifinals | ESPN |
| Sept. 9 | Noon | Mixed Doubles Finals | ESPN2 |
| 3 p.m. | Men's Semifinals | ESPN | |
| Sept. 10 | 4 p.m. | Women's Final | ESPN |
| Sept. 11 | 4 p.m. | Men's Final | ESPN |
Predictions
In the men's draw, Djokovic may be the betting favorite, per Odds Shark, but it's the next man on the list who should again shed his second-fiddle status and win the tournament. That's Andy Murray, who is in brilliant form after winning his second Wimbledon title and second Olympic gold this summer.
Murray, 29, looked due for another year of frustrating near-misses after finishing runner-up to Djokovic at the Australian and French Opens. But the summer has been much kinder to the Glasgow native, who looks set to dominate the U.S. Open after a fine performance at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Murray didn't come away with a Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, losing to Marin Cilic in the final, but he looked excellent along the way, dusting off Milos Raonic (another top pick for the U.S. Open) and Bernard Tomic with ease.
The Express' Graham Semple charted Murray's potential path to the final, noting he could be on a collision course with Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals and Stan Wawrinka in the semis. Murray is 7-1 all-time against Nishikori and 9-7 against Wawrinka. Murray can't overlook the former should they meet, as Nishikori reached the U.S. Open final in 2014, losing to Cilic.
Wawrinka is a much tougher out, though he hasn't fared all that well in a couple of recent tournaments, losing to dark-horse candidate Juan Martin del Potro at Wimbledon and bowing out of the Western and Southern Open in the third round against Grigor Dimitrov.
Murray is sharp, focused and playing great tennis as of late. A matchup with Djokovic in the final looms, but the latter is no guarantee to get that far, given his recent play. Raonic, Cilic or Rafael Nadal could well emerge from that half of the bracket, and Murray is equipped to beat any one of those players, though Cilic right now might prove the most difficult challenge for the Scottish star.
As for the women's draw, Williams is the odds-on favorite, despite her injury woes and recent struggles, per Odds Shark. If her shoulder holds up, Williams should win the tournament, but the injury provides reason to worry she won't be able to perform at her best.
That could be an issue, as Tennis.com's Steve Tignor noted she has a draw filled with plenty of potentially troublesome opponents:
"We’ll get a very good idea of where Serena is, shoulder-wise and otherwise, in her first-round match against Ekaterina Makarova. The two played in the semifinals at the Open two years ago, and two years before that Makarova beat Serena in straight sets at the Australian Open. Serena has had her struggles in first rounds before, but I’m thinking the (presumed) night-session atmosphere will help the American more than it does the Russian.
That won’t be the last land mine in Serena’s field as she moves toward through this quarter. She could face 29th-seeded Ana Ivanovic and 16th-seeded Sam Stosur, each of whom has beaten Serena at a major. Most dangerous of all could be a quarterfinal showdown No. 5 seed Simona Halep. As usual, this 2015 Open semifinalist has had a burst of confidence on U.S. hard courts this summer.
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So if Williams—whose mere presence in most tournaments makes them feel preordained—falters, who will go on to win the women's singles draw?
Angelique Kerber is a fine pick, as she was one win away from usurping Williams as the No. 1 tennis player in the world at the Western and Southern Open. Kerber lost to Williams in the Wimbledon final but did beat her to win the Australian Open earlier this year. The 28-year-old German has developed into one of the game's best and looks primed to remain that way.
Playing as the eighth seed, Madison Keys is the top-ranked American not named Venus or Serena. Keys' best performance at the U.S. Open so far is making it to the fourth round, however, so it would mark a great leap forward in her career if she were to win her first Grand Slam tournament in New York.
While Keys will have plenty of backers, she won't be the one to break through for her first Grand Slam title. That honor will belong to Simona Halep, who is playing well as of late. The 24-year-old made it to the semifinals last year, only to lose to Pennetta. She has plenty of other experience in making deep runs in tennis' biggest tournaments.
Recently, Halep won the Bucharest Open and the Rodgers Cup and made it to the semifinals of the Western and Southern Open.
The Romanian star has been on the cusp of glory several times over the past couple of years. With Williams not at her best, this could be the time for Halep to seize the moment.
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