US Open Tennis 2020: TV Schedule, Picks for Thursday Afternoon Draw

Sofia Kenin comes into Thursday as the highest seed remaining in the U.S. Open women's singles draw. 

The 2020 Australian Open champion had that title bestowed upon her after top seed Karolina Pliskova was eliminated in the second round Wednesday. 

The second-seeded American kicks off Thursday's second-round schedule inside Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center against Canada's Leylah Fernandez. 

Dominic Thiem, the men's No. 2 seed, follows Kenin at Ashe Stadium Thursday afternoon. He is coming off a fairly easy win, but like the other top men, he needs to sharpen his game to be prepared for the tougher matches coming up.

Thiem opposes Sumit Nagal, who became the first Indian player to win a singles match in a Grand Slam draw since 2013 Monday.

US Open Thursday Schedule

TV: ESPN (Noon ET)

Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app (11 a.m. ET)

Full schedule of play can be found on USOpen.org.

Picks

No. 2 Sofia Kenin over Leylah Fernandez

Kenin turned in one of the best women's performances of the first round, losing just four games to Yanina Wickmayer. 

The highest-ranked American in the U.S. Open field did plenty of things right in her opener. She put 80 percent of her first serves in play, won 70 percent of those points, went 6-of-8 at the net and won each of the five break points she created. 

Kenin was also fairly clean in the straight-set win, as she committed 15 unforced errors compared to 33 winners. 

The only woman to a win a Grand Slam in 2020 has not faced Fernandez before, but if she continues to perfect all aspects of her game, she could come away with another two-set victory. 

Fernandez survived a tough first-round match against two-time Grand Slam finalist Vera Zvonareva, but she needs to improve a few statistics to compete with Kenin. 

Fernandez only put 60 percent of her first serves in play and won 69 percent of her points on first and second serve. 

If the Canadian improves her service totals and does not let Kenin break early, we could be treated to a few competitive sets. 

However, it may be difficult for Fernandez to take a set off Kenin, who has won 16 of the 18 sets she has played in at Grand Slams in 2020.

No. 2 Dominic Thiem over Sumit Nagal

Thiem is looking to avoid dropping a set, like four of the top 12 seeds did Wednesday. 

The goal for the Austrian should be to match the dominance of No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who won in straight sets inside Ashe Stadium. 

A controlling performance could be perfect for Thiem's confidence after he was forced into a first-set tiebreaker in his opener against Jaume Munar. 

Thiem took over in the second set before Munar retired ahead of the third set, but he still has work to do to be at his best moving forward. 

The Australian Open finalist put 63 percent of his first serves in play, failed to convert on seven break points and had eight more winners than unforced errors. 

If he cleans up those numbers and is more dominant on serve, he could make quick work of Nagal, who is playing in just his second U.S. Open. 

A year ago, he took a set off Roger Federer in the first round but failed to challenge him in the other three. Nagal managed to win seven games in the final three sets. 

Unless Nagal plays a perfect three sets, it is unlikely that he will test Thiem. He might be able to steal a set, but that seems like the ceiling for his performance based off the Grand Slam history of both players. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from USOpen.org.