US Open Tennis 2020 Schedule: Replay TV Coverage, Live Stream for Thursday Draw

Since returning from a hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Serena Williams had gone a full three sets in her first five matches back, which included a pair of losses. So, the 38-year-old American didn't have a ton of momentum entering the 2020 U.S. Open—the first Grand Slam tennis tournament to take place since the Australian Open earlier this year—which started Monday.

However, it didn't take long for Williams to put together her best match in months. In a first-round matchup on Tuesday, Williams bested fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-5, 6-3. Again in pursuit of a record-tying 24th career Grand Slam title, Williams will be back in action for her second-round matchup on Thursday.

One of Williams' top challengers in the tournament suffered a stunning upset loss on Wednesday. No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova fell to Caroline Garcia 6-1, 7-6 (7-2). That leaves No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin and Williams (No. 3) as the top seeds alive in the women's tourney.

No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic notched a second-round win to advance in the men's tournament on Wednesday, beating Kyle Edmund 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. While Djokovic is off Thursday, some of his top challengers will be in action.

Here's everything you need to know heading into Thursday's U.S. Open slate in New York City.

Thursday TV Schedule

Second round, noon-11 p.m. ET, ESPN

Second round, 7-9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Replay coverage of second round, midnight-10 a.m. ET (Friday), Tennis Channel

Matches can be streamed live on ESPN+

Thursday Preview

Serena Williams has reached the finals of the U.S. Open the past two years, but she hasn't won a Grand Slam title since the 2017 Australian Open. Whether she ends that drought remains to be seen, but she appears poised for another deep run at this major tournament.

On Thursday, Williams is taking on Margarita Gasparyan in the second round at 7 p.m. ET. It's the third time that these two will go head-to-head, as Williams won their previous two meetings (the last of which came in the fourth round of the 2016 Australian Open).

Although Williams is chasing Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles, she's already set one mark at this year's tournament. With her first-round victory, Williams now has 102 career wins at the U.S. Open, passing Chris Evert for the women's record.

"It felt really good," Williams said of her opening-round triumph, according to ESPN. "I was like, 'Serena, just be Serena and close it out,' and I know I can do that, so it felt really good."

If Williams is going to reach the finals of the tournament again this year, she may have to get past Sofia Kenin in the semifinals. Kenin, the No. 2 seed, won her opening-round match on Tuesday and returns to action Thursday, when she faces Leylah Fernandez in the second round at noon ET.

Kenin won the Australian Open earlier this year for her first career Grand Slam title, and she's now looking to win back-to-back major tournaments.

The top-seeded men's player in action Thursday will be Dominic Thiem (No. 2), who is facing Sumit Nagal at 2 p.m. ET. Although Thiem has never faced Nagal, he saw him take on Roger Federer in the first round of last year's U.S. Open, a match that Federer won 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

"He was playing well," Thiem said of Nagal. "I just remember that he has an amazing forehand, like a really, really good one."

No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev will also be in action Thursday when he takes on Christopher O'Connell in a second-round matchup at 5:30 p.m. ET.

One of the best men's matches in the opening round took place Tuesday when unseeded Andy Murray (the 2012 U.S. Open champion) overcame a slow start to beat Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Now, Murray will look for an upset victory when he faces No. 15-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.

If Murray shows the same type of resiliency he had in the opening round, then perhaps the 33-year-old will go on a deep run in this year's U.S. Open, despite not being a favorite heading into the tournament.