US Open Tennis 2018: TV Schedule, Picks for Thursday Afternoon Draw

Roger Federer is the headline act in the afternoon session at the U.S. Open on Thursday as he takes on Benoit Paire in the second round.

Preceding the Swiss legend on Arthur Ashe Stadium is women's fourth seed Angelique Kerber, a title favourite who faces Sweden's Johanna Larsson.

The Louis Armstrong Stadium's schedule on Thursday kicks off with Petra Kvitova against Yafan Wang, before No. 4 men's seed Alexander Zverev takes on Nicolas Mahut and Madison Keys faces fellow American Bernarda Pera.

Here is a selected schedule for Thursday's early action in New York, via USOpen.org:

Arthur Ashe Stadium (Play begins noon ET, 5 p.m. BST)

Johanna Larsson vs. (4) Angelique Kerber* 

Benoit Paire vs. (2) Roger Federer* 

Louis Armstrong Stadium (Play begins 11 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. BST)

(5) Petra Kvitova* vs. Yafan Wang

Nicolas Mahut vs. (4) Alexander Zverev*

(14) Madison Keys vs. Bernarda Pera*

*Picks to win        

TV Info: The action will be shown live on ESPN and the Tennis Channel in the United States. In the UK, the live matches can be streamed via Amazon Prime.

Federer, 37, breezed past Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round at Flushing Meadows as he prevailed 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in just under two hours.

He will be confident of claiming another win against Paire given that he has beaten the Frenchman in all six of their previous meetings.

However, there will be no room for complacency from the 20-time Grand Slam winner.

In the pair's most recent meeting at Halle earlier this year, Paire took Federer to the wire and had two match points.

Federer is seeking his sixth U.S. Open title and first since 2008. World No. 56 Paire is an experienced operator, but he is an opponent Federer should ease past if he is in tournament-winning form.

Germany's Kerber is enjoying a fantastic 2018.

After winning two Grand Slam titles in 2016—the Australian and U.S. Opens—she dropped out of the world's top 20 last year, but her return to the upper echelons of the game was confirmed back in July when she beat Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final.

KENA BETANCUR/Getty Images

With Simona Halep already having fallen by the wayside at the 2018 U.S. Open, Kerber's chances of claiming a fourth Grand Slam in New York have only increased.

Much like Federer, if the world No. 4 is to go all the way again this year, she will be eager to make easy work of her second-round match.

And history suggests it should be a routine victory for Kerber. In three previous meetings with Larsson, she has never dropped a set, losing a total of 10 games to the 30-year-old.