US Open Tennis 2017: TV Schedule, Picks for Thursday Afternoon Draw

Roger Federer, chasing what'd be his third Grand Slam tennis title of 2017, is up against the dangerous Mikhail Youzhny in Round 2 at the U.S. Open on Thursday.

Having overcome Frances Tiafoe in a five-set epic in the previous round, the Swiss icon will hope for a more straightforward outing in the afternoon at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

Prior to that, Karolina Pliskova faces a potentially difficult assignment in her match; the top seed will be against Nicole Gibbs and the American crowd, who will no doubt back the home player in the last 64.

Elsewhere, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is up against Sorana Cirstea at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Here are the matches to look out for in Thursday's afternoon session and a preview of what should be an absorbing day's play at the U.S. Open.

Thursday Afternoon, Selected Matches

Arthur Ashe Stadium

(4) Elina Svitolina* vs. Evgeniya Rodina

(1) Karolina Pliskova* vs. Nicole Gibbs

(3) Roger Federer* vs. Mikhail Youzhny

Louis Armstrong Stadium

(12) Jelena Ostapenko* vs. Sorana Cirstea

(7) Grigor Dimitrov* vs. Andrey Rublev

(6) Dominic Thiem* vs. Taylor Fritz

(15) Madison Keys* vs. Tatjana Maria

*Picks to win

TV Info: ESPN (U.S.), Eurosport (UK)

For the order of play in full for Thursday, visit the U.S. Open website.

Thursday Preview

JEWEL SAMAD/Getty Images

Few would have anticipated Federer to have things quite so difficult when he stepped out on to court to get his U.S Open charge underway against Tiafoe.

But the home player, buoyed by the challenge, played the match of his life against the 19-time Grand Slam champion, winning the first set then taking the clash to a decider. In that, he matched Federer for long spells but eventually coming up short.

After the match, Federer spoke about a back issue that has been hindering him, though he said he was feeling good ahead of Round 2.

"Extremely well," he responded when asked how he felt, per BBC Sport. "To get through a five-setter you have to be OK. It's going to give me great confidence in the body and in my game, because preparation was a little bit compromised, so I'm really, really happy with tonight."

In the buildup to Round 2, Federer has been immersing himself in New York life, as he ventured down to Central Park for a brief hit, as we can see:

Next up for him is a determined and talented outsider in Youzhny. As noted by ATP Media Info, while he's done well at the U.S. Open previously, he's struggled against his veteran opponent:

There are some eyecatching matches to look forward to in the women's draw on Thursday, too, with plenty likely to flock to the Louis Armstrong Stadium to get a look at Ostapenko; the Latvian has established a reputation as one of the most entertaining players on the circuit.

JEWEL SAMAD/Getty Images

Prior to Federer, the world No. 1 and top seed Pliskova will be out to tame a passioned home player in the form of Gibbs.

As noted by the Live Tennis Twitter, the latter didn't fare particularly well when the duo last met:

Pliskova only dropped three games on her way to Round 2, breezing past Magda Linette. If she has genuine hopes of winning her first Grand Slam title, the top seed should make pretty light work of Gibbs.

Svitolina, meanwhile, will be delighted to still be in the tournament at this point having found things tough in Round 1.

The skilled Ukrainian was pushed into a deciding set against Katerina Siniakova, despite having won a bagel in the opening stanza. Though she was able to rediscover some flow in the third set, a comprehensive win against Rodina would give her a vital confidence boost as we near the end of the first week.