US Open Tennis 2017 Schedule: Women, Men's Finals TV, Live-Stream Coverage

If there's anything the U.S. Open is good for—and in the tennis world, it's good for a lot—it's an unpredictable finish to what's always a star-studded tournament.

The 2017 edition has turned out to be no different. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer still have never met in Flushing Meadows, this time thanks to 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro. The darling of this year's tournament met his match (and then some) against Nadal in the men's semifinals.

On the women's side, Serena Williams' absence left the field wide-open for the world to get a taste of America's Grand Slam event. But rather than go global, the women's bracket stuck to the United States. Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens advanced to the final after beating fellow Yankees CoCo Vandeweghe and Venus Williams, respectively, in an All-American semifinal round.

Here's a look at this weekend's championship schedule at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.

U.S. Open: Men's and Women's Championships

• Madison Keys (15) vs. Sloane Stephens, Sept. 9, not before 4 p.m. ET, ESPN/WatchESPN
• Kevin Anderson (28) vs. Rafael Nadal (1), Sept. 10, not before 4 p.m. ET, ESPN/WatchESPN

Per Yahoo Sports, Keys and Stephens are vying to become the first American other than the Williams sisters to win the U.S. Open in nearly 30 years.

Keys advanced by taking down Vandeweghe in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. The Rock Island, Illinois, native dominated the niece of NBA executive Kiki Vandeweghe across the board, notching 25 winners to CoCo's nine and committing just nine unforced errors, compared to 22 for Vandeweghe.

Stephens had to work harder to oust the elder Williams sister. She needed three sets to send Venus packing, finishing off the 37-year-old with a 7-5 victory in the final set after winning the first (6-1) and dropping the second (0-6).

Keys looks to have the upper hand in Saturday's showdown for the future of American tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium. OddsShark lists the 22-year-old as a -220 (bet $220 to win $100).

The two combatants are already well-acquainted with one another. Stephens beat Keys in straight sets at the 2015 Miami Masters. Prior to that, they competed together as junior-level players and as teammates on the U.S. squad at the 2014 Fed Cup. Throughout that time, they've trained near one another in South Florida—Keys in Boca Raton, the 24-year-old Stephens in Coral Springs.

"She's probably one of my closest friends on tour," Stephens said Thursday, per ESPN's D'Arcy Maine. "Love her to death. ... It's obviously going to be tough. It's not easy playing a friend."

While Stephens' quickness has served her well—especially on defense, where she's able to track down balls all over the court—she may be at a disadvantage against a powerful player like Keys. Even with all her speed, Stephens figures to have a tough time keeping up with Keys' blindingly fast ground strokes.

As Tennis.com's Steve Tignor noted:

"...Keys can go from brilliant to bad and back to brilliant again in the space of a single afternoon. But the recent history of women’s tennis says that when it comes to the Slams, the slugger usually wins."

That same line of thinking should serve Nadal well against Anderson. Few players are more powerful than the 31-year-old Spaniard, who's seeking his third U.S. Open title.

Juan Martin del Potro learned that the hard way—not that he needed any reminder. The 28-year-old Argentine's (four-set) loss in the semifinals was his ninth in 14 tries opposite Nadal. 

Anderson knows a thing or two about Nadal's dominance himself. He's yet to beat Nadal head-to-head (0-4), and has taken just one of 10 sets therein.

The 31-year-old South African had never so much as sniffed the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event during his decade on the ATP. A depleted field on the men's side left him ample opportunity to make his first such run at this year's U.S. Open.

Anderson, though, didn't waltz his way into Sunday's match. He needed four sets to oust Paolo Lorenzi from the fourth round, five to stop Sam Querrey in the quarterfinals and four more to move past Pablo Carreno Busta in the semifinals.

In becoming the lowest-ranked U.S. Open finalist since the ATP started its computer rankings in 1973, Anderson celebrated his win over Carreno Busta by climbing into his guest box by way of a chair and a flower box.

"I don't know if it's appropriate," Anderson said, per the Associated Press. "It certainly felt the right thing to do."

It's hard to blame Anderson for his exuberance. Aside from this being his deepest run ever at a tennis major, his odds of having the same opportunity opposite Nadal are slim, at best. OddsShark has Anderson as a huge underdog at +525 (bet $100 to win $525)—a far cry from Nadal's -750 moneyline.