By Tia Ko
Two easy rounds into the U.S. Open sees top ranked Novak Djokovic take on Andreas Seppi (25) in the third round this afternoon. Djokovic beat Andreas Haider-Maurer in straight sets on Wednesday night 6-4 6-1 6-2 while it took Seppi four to come out with a win over Teymuraz Gabashvili 3-6 6-3 7-6 6-1 to make it to the last 32.
Djokovic has spent little time on the court so far, playing for a mere two hours and 39 minutes in total. His first match versus Brazilian Joao Souza lasted only one hour and eight minutes and was just one game shy in each set of being a triple bagel match with a score of 6-1 6-1 6-1.
Head-to-head, Seppi hasn’t been able to take a single match from the world number one in ten meetings. Their last match was more than two years ago during the quarterfinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships back in 2013 where Djokovic quickly won 6-0 6-3.
Will Seppi be able to pull off another huge upset in round three of a Grand Slam (think back to the Australian Open this past January) and improve his record versus Novak to 1-10?
We’ll also see both of the Williams sisters in action today when Venus plays the young and vibrant Swiss teen Belinda Bencic who made headlines earlier this week for her heated exchange with the umpire during her second round match. Bencic is ranked at a career-high number 12 and will likely have a tough match playing on Arthur Ashe against the American veteran.
Serena will be playing the first night match tonight against fellow countrywoman Bethanie Mattek-Sands who is more known for playing doubles and will be playing her first third round match ever at the U.S. Open as a singles player. Serena, of course, is on route to make history by completing the calendar slam and she’s currently all the rage in the media. For the first time in history, the U.S. Open women’s final sold out faster than the men’s final; I think everyone wants to witness a piece of history that Serena Williams is writing!
The last match on Arthur Ashe will be a battle between Spaniard Rafael Nadal (8) and Fabio Fognini (32). The two have met three times this year: Fognini won twice in Rio De Janeiro and Barcelona but Nadal won the most recent encounter during the final in Hamburg. Nadal is 2-0 against the Italian on hard court.
Champion in 2010 and 2013, Nadal improved his record to 22-1 in his last 23 matches at the US Open.
Comments