Federer and Wozniacki Look to Shine Under the Lights at Day Four of the U.S. Open

September 3, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff

The second round of the Men’s and Women’s singles draws at the 2015 U.S. Open will wrap up today with a number of intriguing matchups highlighting Thursday’s card at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

First on the Arthur Ashe court will be two-time finalist Victoria Azarenka, as the number 20 seed from Belarus will take on Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer. Azarenka has never lost before the second round in her last nine appearances in Queens, and despite not playing a lot in the hard court warm up tournaments, looked fit in her opening round win over Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.

Azarenka won the only previous meeting between these two players in Doha back in 2012.

Second-seeded Romanian Simona Halep will be in action on Ashe following Azarenka-Hradecka. Halep, who won via retirement while leading 6-2, 3-0 over Marina Erakovic in the first-round, will play Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko.

The two have never played before and Halep will be looking to make a statement in this match. She had struggled in the middle part of 2015 before runs in Toronto and Cincinnati and would love a deep run in Queens to solidify her spot as one of the best players in the world. Halep is ranked 102 spots higher than Bondarenko, and will look to avoid losing to a player outside the top 100, something she couldn’t do at Wimbledon.

Andy Murray will wrap up the day session on Ashe when he meets France’s Adrian Mannarino. The third-seed Murray got a tough draw in the first-round, playing talented Nick Kyrgios, but played excellent tennis to advance in four sets. He is 34-1 in his career in second-round matches at Grand Slams and will look to improve on that record as well as his 10-0 record against left-handed players this year.

Murray won the only previous meeting between these two, a straight-set victory in Indian Wells earlier this year.

French Open champion Stan Wawrinka will be the second match on Louis Armstrong. He meets Korean teenager Hyeon Chung, who is seeking to become the first Korean to reach the third-round or better at the U.S. Open since 2007, but faces a tall task in Wawrinka. Despite playing an up and down match in the first-round, Wawrinka still got through in straight sets, and will look to do the same again this afternoon.

American John Isner will hit the Armstrong court after Wawrinka as the number 13 seed takes on Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny. Isner won in straight sets in his opener, but has lost the only two meetings with Youzhny in their history, including at the 2010 U.S. Open. Isner has been on the verge of a breakthrough but has been ousted out of the third-round of this tournament in the last three seasons. He has played excellent tennis this summer, and will need to get past a tricky opponent in Youzhny on Thursday.

The second-highest ranked American, Jack Sock, will take on Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans on Grandstand. Sock won the only previous meeting between the two, and will look to build on his impressive straight-set win in the first-round.

The night session on Ashe features a couple of U.S. Open stars, as Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki headline the two matches.

Federer will take on Belgium’s Steve Darcis, a man he has never played before. Federer looked exceptional in his first round contest against Leonardo Mayer, and should have no problems with Darcis. Following this match and closing out Day Four at the Open, the fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki will face off against Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic.

Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza will be in action today as well, kicking things off on to Court 17 as she takes on Great Britain’s Johanna Konta.

Click here for the full schedule of Day Four’s matches at the 2015 U.S. Open.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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