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

Taylor Fritz is the lone seeded American remaining in the men's singles draw at the 2020 U.S. Open.

On Friday, the No. 19 seed faces a difficult matchup against No. 12 Denis Shapovalov in the second of two afternoon matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium inside the USTA National Tennis Center. 

Fritz is the only American man scheduled to play a third-round singles match Friday, and if he loses, Frances Tiafoe and J.J. Wolf will be the only United States representatives left. 

Five American women will be in action Friday, including one head-to-head matchup involving Shelby Rogers and Madison Brengle. 

The most intriguing contest involving one of the American title hopefuls will be on one of the outside courts, where Jennifer Brady looks to get beyond Caroline Garcia, who stunned top seed Karolina Pliskova in the second round.

US Open Friday 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. 12 Denis Shapovalov over No. 19 Taylor Fritz

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Shapovalov enters his third-round clash with Fritz with a 2-0 head-to-head record.

Both of the Canadian's victories over the American have come on hard courts, with the most recent being in the 2019 Davis Cup Finals. 

The good news for Fritz is that his 21-year-old opponent has been far from perfect in his opening two matches. The No. 12 seed has dropped a set in each match. 

Fritz comes into the matchup with six straight-set wins after initially dropping one to Dominik Koepfer on Monday.

The difference-maker in Shapovalov's game Friday could be his net play. In the second round, he won 26 of 37 net points. 

Fritz played just 12 points at the net in his second-round win over Gilles Simon. He won 10 of those points. 

If Shapovalov keeps the 22-year-old off balance with his approach play, he should have an advantage on his serve and in break-point opportunities. 

A win would produce a significant milestone for Shapovalov since he has exited the US Open in the third round in each of the last two years. He has been to the fourth round in New York on one occasion. 

No. 28 Jennifer Brady over Caroline Garcia

James Crisp/Associated Press

Brady had to be one of the happiest players in the top half of the women's draw after the third-round matchups were set.

The No. 28 seed avoided a meeting with top seed Pliskova and will instead face a player she has been successful against. 

Brady owns a 3-3 record against Garcia. All three of her victories came in 2019 when Garcia was ranked in the top 32 and the American was an unseeded player. 

The 25-year-old downed the French player at Indian Wells, Dubai and Hua Hin and lost just a single set in those victories. But after she lost the second set at Indian Wells, she swept the third set. 

Her overall numbers against Garcia, 26, and form to start the U.S. Open should hand Brady plenty of confidence going into the match on Court 17. 

Brady lost eight games in her first two matches. In the second round, she won 20 of 27 first-serve points and forced 14 break points against Catherine Bellis. 

If the American attacks Garcia's serve from the start, she should keep the unseeded player off balance and deny her a third trip to the fourth round of a major since 2018.

If Brady wins, she could set up a showdown with No. 17 Angelique Kerber, who is expected to beat Ann Li in her third-round match.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from USOpen.org and WTATennis.com.