By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday August 28, 2024

 

Both 2023 champions are back to defend the court in a sizzling Day 3 night session on Ashe.

Photo Source: TTV

Day 3 of the US Open means… round two! Here’s what we’ll be watching as the round of 64 kicks off on a warm New York Wednesday…



Defenders of the night

Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic, your defending champions this year in Queens, will play the night session on Arthur Ashe. Gauff was shaky in the leadup but started her US Open with an impressive win over France’s Varvara Gracheva. Tonight she will face German veteran Tatjana Maria, and the 17-year age gap between the two will be bigger than the talent gap in this contest.

But Maria has never been beyond round two in NY, while Gauff is on an eight-match winning streak in Flushing.

Djokovic, still flying from his gold medal performance in Paris, plays the nightcap. The 37-year-old 24-time major champion faces compatriot Laslo Djere in a rematch of the pair’s third-round encounter from last year, won by Djokovic, but not before Djere took the first two sets.

Both of the pair’s previous meetings have gone the distance, in fact, with Djokovic beating Djere in a third-set tiebreak in Belgrade in 2022 in their other meeting.



Berrettini vs Fritz on Armstrong

Speaking of nightcaps, we turn our attention to what should be a scorching battle between top American Taylor Fritz and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Armstrong.

Fritz, a quarterfinalist last year in Flushing, clearly likes the matchup – he’s 3-0 lifetime against the former Wimbledon finalist. But Berrettini and his 17-6 lifetime record at the Open cannot be overlooked. They’ll meet in the final match on Armstrong, but the muggy NY conditions could still be playing a factor on what should be the hottest day of week one.

Key question: How will the sometimes physically vulnerable Berrettini hold up in the heat?



Locked and loaded on Grandstand

The ticket on Grandstand provides a lot of variety on Wednesday. Fans might want to get there early and scope out a seat in a shade for a lineup that features two-time Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova (vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse), as well as Olympic women’s singles gold medalist Zheng Qinwen (vs Erika Andreeva).

Things heat up with men’s singles action after that. Expect high energy as 2023 semifinalist Ben Shelton faces Roberto Bautista Agut, which will be followed by an enticing matchup between 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud and 37-year-old fan favorite and shotmaking wizard Gael Monfils.