U.S. Open Day Three Preview: Halep and Wawrkina Look to Keep Rolling in Flushing Meadows
Day Three of the 2014 U.S. Open will feature a number of the top seeded women in action, as the number two seed Simona Halep, number four seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the fifth seeded Maria Sharapova, sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber, the nine seed Jelena Jankovic and number 10 seed Caroline Wozniacki are all looking to move on at Flushing Meadows.
At Louis Armstrong, Halep continues her drive for the top spot in the WTA Singles Rankings when she faces Slovakian Jana Cepelova. This is the first meeting between the two, and Halep is bidding to reach third at the U.S. Open for the second time (also 2013), and for the fifth successive major.
Radwanska gets things underway early at Louis Armstrong Stadium when she faces China's Shuai Peng. Radwanska holds a 3-1 career record over Peng, with their last meeting in 2011 at the Aussie Open Round of 16. Including her first round win over Sharon Fichman on Monday, among active players, Radwanska has the second-best win/loss percentage in the opening round of Grand Slams with a 32-2 mark. (.941).
Sharapova will face Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru this afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sharapova is 2-0 lifetime against Dulgheru, and brings an 8-1 record into second round matches at Flushing Meadows. Dulgheru is making her fifth main draw U.S. Open appearance, with her best result a round three appearance in 2010.
Kerber will be on Court 11 this afternoon where she will face Russian Alla Kudryavtseva. Kerber has won all four career matchups against Kudryavtseva, the most recent this past January at the Australian Open. The 2014 U.S. Open marks Kerber’s 28th singles main draw appearance. She advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2011 U.S. Open, becoming the first German to do so since Steffi Graf in 1996.
The 10th-seeded Wozniacki is set to face Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus this afternoon at the Grandstand in their first ever career meeting. Lifetime in Flushing Meadows, Wozniacki is 5-2 in second round matches, an was a finalist in 2009, losing to Kim Clijsters.
Some of the top-seeded men in action on Day Three include the number three seed Stan Wawrinka, six seed Tomas Berdych and the seven seed Grigor Dimitrov. Wawrinka will play under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, facing Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci in a second round matchup. Bellucci owns the only victory in the lone meeting with Wawrinka, a 6-4, 6-4 win on clay in Gstaad in July 2009. Wawrinka is playing in his 10th U.S. Open, with his previous best result a quarterfinals loss in 2010.
Berdych will face Australian Lleyton Hewitt on Ashe this afternoon as well in a first round meeting. Berdych hold a 2-0 lifetime advantage over Hewitt, the last victory coming in 2009 in the quarterfinals in Munich. Berdych is 24-11 lifetime at the U.S. Open and is playing in Flushing Meadows for 12th year in a row. Last year, he advanced to the fourth round, not dropping a set before falling to Wawrinka in four. Hewitt is the 2001 U.S. Open champion, and comes in with a 46-12 career record, playing at Flushing Meadows for the 14th time since making debut in 1999.
At Louis Armstrong Stadium this afternoon, Dimitrov will face American Ryan Harrison in a first round matchup. In one career meeting, Dimitrov defeated Harrison on grass this past June at Wimbledon. Dimitrov at 0-3 is seeking his first win at the U.S. Open. Harrison has a 2-4 record in the main draw, reaching the second round in 2010 as a qualifier and again in 2012. Last year, he was defeated in the opening round by the number two seed, Rafael Nadal.
Men’s doubles action also gets underway, as on Court 17, world number one and four-time U.S. Open doubles champions Bob & Mike Bryan begin their quest for their 100th title together, as they take on Max Mirnyi & Mikhail Youzhny. The Bryans have won a record 15 Grand Slam doubles titles, and are looking to extend their streak of one Slam crown for the past nine years.
Click here for a full schedule of Day Three at the 2014 U.S. Open.
