US Open Tennis 2019: TV Schedule, Start Times for Friday Night Draw
Novak Djokovic will be in action Friday evening at the 2019 U.S. Open. The defending champion is set to face Denis Kudla in the third round at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.
Daniil Medvedev, conqueror of Djokovic in the semi-final of the Cincinnati Masters recently, will play Spain's Feliciano Lopez at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Medvedev and Djokovic are on course to meet each other again, provided both make it through to the last eight.
There are also matches in the women's bracket, the most intriguing being Madison Keys squaring off with Sofia Kenin. Keys is the 10th seed at Flushing Meadows after taking the Masters title in Cincinnati, while 20-year-old Kenin is a rising star.
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Friday Night Schedule
Arthur Ashe Stadium: 7 p.m. ET/12 a.m. BST (Saturday)
- (1) Novak Djokovic vs. Denis Kudla
- (20) Sofia Kenin vs. (10) Madison Keys
Louis Armstrong Stadium: 7 p.m. ET/12 a.m. BST (Saturday)
- (5) Elina Svitolina vs. (32) Dayana Yastremska
- Feliciano Lopez vs. (5) Daniil Medvedev
Visit the U.S. Open website to see the draw in full
TV Schedule
ESPN2 (U.S.), live-streaming on Amazon Prime (UK)
Visit the U.S. Open website for a full TV schedule
Djokovic is the favourite to retain his title, but the Serb hasn't had things all his own way so far. He brushed aside Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets in the opening round, but Juan Ignacio Londero taxed the world No. 1 a little more on Wednesday.
Things were tight in the opening set, which Djokovic won 6-4, before he had to survive a tiebreak to take the second. It didn't help he was slowed by a shoulder problem.
Djokovic explained how the injury threatened to derail core aspects of his game, per BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko: "It was definitely affecting my serve and my backhand."
The 32-year-old did at least sound positive the injury won't hinder him for long, per Sportklub (h/t Uche Amako of the Daily Express): "I don't believe that this can be a long-term issue. At least that is what the specialists say."
Djokovic has had a day to rest, so it would be smart to back the top seed to see off Kudla, given he's at his best at Grand Slams:
Like Djokovic, Medvedev has had his own problems staying healthy. The Russian was far from in peak form during a win over Hugo Dellien in the second round.
It took Medvedev four sets to get by his unseeded opponent, with some, including The Tennis Podcast, raising doubts about the former's ability to repeat his success in Cincinnati:
Medvedev may not have looked as good as he did in Ohio, but Keys has barely skipped a beat from her strong performances this month. She was too strong for Misaki Doi and Zhu Lin in the early rounds but will likely find Kenin tougher opposition.
The latter has impressed by outlasting CoCo Vandeweghe in the opening round before rallying brilliantly against Laura Siegemund. Kenin was three games down in the first set but battled back to take it after a tiebreak.
Keys has the psychological edge, though, after beating Kenin in straight sets in the last four at Cincinnati. Kenin has already proved she's over the setback, but Keys' experience should prove decisive once again.
Svitolina served notice about her ability to win this title by gradually overpowering Venus Williams in straight sets on Wednesday.
The fifth seed is strong on serve and showed the variety in her return game by converting a pair of key break points to win the first set against Williams. Yastremska hasn't faced Svitolina before, and the world No. 32 could be a little out of her depth against this level of opposition.
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