US Open Tennis 2020: TV Schedule and Men's Semifinal Predictions

The women's semifinals provided some thrills on Thursday night at the U.S. Open. 

Naomi Osaka outlasted American underdog Jennifer Brady in three sets, though both played exceptional tennis.

The quality continued later into the night, with two-time U.S. Open finalist Victoria Azarenka coming from behind to beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in three sets.

Now, the men will try to follow suit on Friday in Flushing.

The first match features fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev against No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta. Immediately after that match ends, tennis fans could be treated to one of the best matches of the tournament, with Dominic Thiem taking on Daniil Medvedev.

Men's Semifinal TV Schedule and Predictions   

Live Coverage: 4-11 p.m. ET, ESPN

Replay Coverage: 11 p.m. (Friday)-6 a.m. (Saturday) ET, Tennis Channel

No. 5 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta   

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Carreno Busta was Novak Djokovic's opponent when the world No. 1 defaulted from the tournament for accidentally hitting a ball at a linesperson's throat.

Djokovic's exit should not distract from the fact Carreno Busta has played some excellent tennis throughout the course of the tournament.

Carreno Busta was up 6-5 and on serve with a chance to serve out the first set when Djokovic defaulted. In the next round, he overcame an early deficit against 21-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov to win in five sets.

The Spaniard won both the second and third sets in tiebreakers before bouncing back from an 0-6 fourth set to win the decider and advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2017 U.S. Open.

Zverev has not been involved in quite as much drama in terms of spectacle, but he has needed four sets in four of his five matches to get to the semifinals.

Like Carreno Busta, Zverev lost the first set of his quarterfinal against Borna Coric. But, like his semifinal opponent, he won each of the next two in tiebreakers before taking the fourth set, 6-3. The 23-year-old German is in his second consecutive semifinal after reaching the last four at the Australian Open.

This might actually prove to be an ideal matchup for Carreno Busta, because Zverev is similar to Shapovalov: both boast a big serve and forehand.

Zverev managed to overcome 12 double faults against Coric in part because of his 18 aces, but he might not be able to afford those mistakes against Carreno Busta, who made Shapovalov work and also surprised with some fantastic passing shots.

Prediction: Carreno Busta wins in five sets

No. 2 Dominic Thiem vs. No. 3 Daniil Medvedev   

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

In a lot of ways, it is really too bad this match is not the final, particularly considering Djokovic is no longer in the tournament.

Thiem and Medvedev each cruised in their respective quarterfinals, winning in three sets. Medvedev—last year's finalist—has yet to drop a single set, while Thiem has lost just one set in the entire tournament.

Needless to say, the nightcap should feature some high-quality tennis.

Thiem has had the tougher slate of opponents. He totally overwhelmed Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime, capitalizing on the youngster's second serve and controlling seemingly every rally in the last two sets.

The Austrian then changed things up for his quarterfinal against Alex de Minaur, using his serve to dominate the Australian. Thiem should also be hungry for his first Grand Slam title after coming up just short in Melbourne earlier this year

However, Thiem will have to contend with an equally motivated Medvedev. The Russian had 16 aces in his win over Andrey Rublev and won 89 percent of the points on his first serve. Medvedev also had a whopping 51 winners in that match, though he also had 37 unforced errors.

Both Thiem and Medvedev are unafraid to go for broke. However, Thiem has shown he can beat big servers like Marin Cilic, which could loom large against Medvedev. 

In any case, this could be a classic with both players at the top of their game.

Prediction: Thiem wins in five sets

All stats obtained vis USOpen.org