US Open Tennis 2018: TV Schedule, Start Times for Thursday Night Draw

Thursday night's 2018 U.S. Open action will be headlined by Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Kei Nishikori and Maria Sharapova, who will all play out their Round 2 matches at Flushing Meadows.

Djokovic will take on Tennys Sandgren at the Arthur Ash Stadium, ahead of the clash between Sharapova and Sorana Cirstea. At the Louis Armstrong Stadium, Nishikori faces off with Gael Monfils, followed by the battle between Wozniacki and Lesia Tsurenko.

The evening session will start at 7 p.m. ET (midnight BST). The full schedule can be found on the U.S. Open website. ESPN (U.S. viewers) and Amazon Prime (UK viewers) will broadcast all of the action.

Djokovic is expected to cruise past 27-year-old Sandgren, who has already secured his best ever result at the U.S. Open by advancing to the second round.

The American is something of a late bloomer, breaking into the Top 100 last year after plenty of success on the Challenger Tour. He made it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open earlier this year, but at Wimbledon, he was knocked out in the first round by the Djoker.

Djokovic overcame a tough challenge in the opening round against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, something he acknowledged afterwards:

Fucsovics sits well ahead of Sandgren in the standings and had form on his side entering the tournament―this Round 2 matchup should be an easier one for the Serb.

Tsurenko has been a fixture on the WTA Tour for years, and she should provide Wozniacki with a serious challenge. The Ukrainian isn't known as a consistent winner―she has just four WTA singles titles on her resume―but does have a tendency to play up to her competition.

In Cincinnati, she beat both Garbine Muguruza and Ekaterina Makarova before losing to Simona Halep. Earlier this week she impressed against the tricky Alison van Uytvanck in Round 1. She has also won two of her four titles in Acapulco, a tournament known for its difficult playing conditions due to the heat.

Wozniacki is confident about her game, and she'll likely have to play at a solid level to get past Tsurenko:

Monfils secured his spot in the second round by winning 12 straight games in sets three and four against Facundo Bagnis, setting up a tantalising clash with Nishikori. All of their past matchups have gone the distance, and the last three were decided by a tie break in the final set. For neutral fans of the sport, this will be a must-watch match.

Sharapova hasn't faced Cirstea since 2012, so their clash should also be one to watch.