US Open Tennis 2018: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Tuesday Afternoon

Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the star attractions at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, as they each seek to progress towards glory at Flushing Meadows with wins in their quarter-final matches.

Standing in Nadal's way is talented ninth seed Dominic Thiem, while the other men's quarter-final on the day is a battle of the big servers, with Juan Martin del Potro up against home favourite John Isner.

Williams faces former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, who is looking to break her Grand Slam duck. Defending champion Sloane Stephens gets the action under way at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the day against Anastasija Sevastova.

Here is the schedule for these crucial quarter-final matches and a look ahead to what to expect from these fine players.

Selected Tuesday Schedule

Arthur Ashe Stadium

(3) Sloane Stephens vs. (19) Anastasija Sevastova

(3) Juan Martin del Potro vs. (11) John Isner

(17) Serena Williams vs. (8) Karolina Pliskova

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (9) Dominic Thiem

For Tuesday's schedule in full, visit the U.S. Open website.

In the United States, ESPN (live stream at ESPN Player) and the Tennis Channel will provide coverage. For viewers in the UK, the matches will be streamed live on Amazon Prime. 

Nadal and Williams Set to Light Up Flushing Meadows

TPN/Getty Images

While any match involving Nadal at a Grand Slam is a special occasion, in the last two rounds he's battled past his opponent rather than blitzed them. 

Both Nikoloz Basilashvili and Karen Khachanov were able to take sets off the top seed in their respective matches. He will be hoping those challenging encounters will have him battle-hardened for the latter rounds.

The relief from Nadal was clear when he managed to make it into the last eight: 

The worry for the Spaniard will be that the standard of opposition jumps significantly from here, and Thiem is someone with the skills to give him issues on Tuesday.

The Austrian made it into this quarter-final—his first away from Roland Garros in the Grand Slams—after a straight-sets win over Kevin Anderson.

Per tennis journalist Jose Morgado, he was delighted with the level of his performance against the Wimbledon finalist: 

Del Potro's match with Isner is likely to be the stylistic opposite to Nadal's meeting with Thiem, as the pair are likely to hammer down a number of massive serves. The fans in attendance will be desperate to see a home player in the semi-finals, and the American is in the form of his life.

In the women's bracket, the home supporters are more likely to get a U.S. winner, as Williams and Stephens are both favourites to progress in their matches.

Last time out, Williams wasn't quite at her best, and she was taken to a decider by Kaia Kanepi before eventually coming through as the victor. 

Pliskova opened up on the challenge of facing someone with the 36-year-old's pedigree at this venue, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:

Aside from Williams, who is a six-time champion, Stephens is the only player left in the draw who knows what's required to win the U.S. Open title. 

Up to now, she hasn't appeared daunted by being the defending champion and was on fire in the previous round, dispatching Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-3. Sevastova will need to find something special if she's going to stop Stephens marching into the semi-finals once again.