Venus Williams, Stan Wawrinka headline U.S. Open Day 3 matches
NEW YORK -- After a flurry of big names over the last two days, Day 3 offers a slight respite. Tennis Channel begins live coverage when play begins at 11 a.m. ET, ESPN will pick up coverage at 1 p.m. ET, and ESPN2 will handle primetime coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. Click here for the full order of play. Matches on the tournament's seven show courts (Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand, Court 17, Court 5, and the Hawkeye-less courts of Court 11 and Court 13) can also be streamed at USOpen.org.
Storylines
Venus Williams and Stan Wawrinka under the lights: Williams gets the primetime slot on Arthur Ashe Stadium (first night match) when she takes on No. 78 Timea Bacsinszky. The two played just once, in 2008, and Venus won easily. Assuming she's recovered from her three-set win over Kimiko Date-Krumm on Monday, Williams should have no problems here. A win would put her into the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2010. Third-seeded Wawrinka follows her on Ashe. He plays No. 91 Thomaz Bellucci.
Two Australian Open legends go for upsets: Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis were the protagonists of the famous marathon match at the 2008 Australian Open, which ended at 4:33 a.m. local time and saw Hewitt win 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3. Now to see if either of them have a bracket-busting upset in them. No. 41 Hewitt plays sixth-seed Tomas Berdych (not before 1 p.m., Arthur Ashe Stadium). Berdych has been stuck in a slump since Wimbledon and hasn't played anything close to his best on the summer hard courts. Baghdatis is up to No. 86 after winning back-to-back Challenger events this summer; he plays No. 14 seed Marin Cilic (second match, Louis Armstrong Stadium). If the Cypriots come out in full force, that match could deliver a raucous atmosphere.
U.S Open Day 2 recap: Federer rolls, American women have a great day
Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki should cruise
Ryan Harrison has a bet with Darren Rovell: Harrison is down to No. 184 after a poor season that has been marred by injuries, and needed a wild card to get into the tournament. His poor luck continues as he drew No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov (not before 5 p.m., Louis Armstrong Stadium). Harrison has a bet going with ESPN's Darren Rovell; If Harrison wins, Rovell has to wear a U.S. Open women's skirt to promote the game of tennis (not sure how that promotes the game, but OK).
More matches to watch
Feliciano Lopez vs. Ivan Dodig (first match, Grandstand): Lopez has been playing great tennis since the grass court season, making the semifinals of the Rogers Cup a few weeks ago. But he's had a tough time against the scrappy Dodig, who has come out on top in two of the three matches they've played. This is the pair's first meeting on hard court.
Ernests Gulbis vs. Kenny De Schepper (fourth match, Grandstand): Gulbis hasn't made it past the second round of the U.S. Open since 2007 and lost in the first round last year. De Schepper beat him this summer at the Aegon Championships on grass.
Daniela Hantuchova vs. Alize Cornet (first match, Court 5): It's a match involving the always dramatic Cornet. Why not tune in?
Andrea Petkovic vs. Monica Puig (third match, Court 11): Petkovic needed three sets to beat a qualifier in the first round. Puig leads their head-to-head 2-1. The pride of Puerto Rico could pull off the upset here.
