You may not have heard because it’s a bit under the radar (just kidding), but the US Open starts Monday — and the USTA has made sure you notice with their Day 1 scheduling.
Looking for a big match on Day 1? Well look no further because the scheduling has made EVERY MATCH on Arthur Ashe Stadium and the newly-rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium a must-watch.
Play on Ashe starts at noon with No. 8 seed Grigor Dimitrov against wild card Stan Wawrinka, who has won every slam except Wimbledon, followed by No. 16 seed Venus Williams against world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The night session on Ashe? How about No. 17 seed Serena Williams against Poland’s Magda Linette, then world No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Spanish countryman David Ferrer, a rematch of the 2013 French Open final.
.@TeamSheIS x @USTA Embrace All
The biggest names on the @wta, past and present, and @andy_murray unite as one voice on the importance of supporting female athletes in a daring statement: “She Is. We Are. Embrace All.”
Learn More: https://t.co/WGPwvSq6rm#SheISUSTAEmbraceAll pic.twitter.com/bqQ0MzQMQ4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2018
And what if you have a ticket for Armstrong on Monday?
How about starting at 11 a.m. with world No. 1 Simona Halep vs. Kaia Kanepi, then unseeded Andy Murray coming back from injury against big-hitting Australian James Duckworth, and defending champion and No. 3 seed Soane Stephens vs. Russian Evgenia Rodina?
The night session beginning at 7 p.m. features former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka vs. Slovak Viktoria Kuzmova, then former US Open champion and No. 3 seed Juan Martin del Potro vs. American qualifier Donald Young.
Also around the grounds scheduled on Monday are Florida’s Sachia Vickery vs. No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina, No. 11 John Isner vs. Bradley Klahn in an all-American match-up, No. 28 Denis Shapovalov vs. rising teen Felix Auger-Aliassime in an all-Canadian match-up, American Ryan Harrison vs. No. 5 Kevin Anderson, American Taylor Fritz vs. Mischa Zverev, and No. 18 Jack Sock, No. 12 Garbine Muguruza, and American Sam Querrey among other players in action.
“If anything, I have more fire in my belly,” Serena said entering Monday. “It’s very hard to describe. It’s very difficult to describe. I thought after having a child I would be more relaxed. I think I’ve said this before, but I’m not. I work just as hard if not harder actually. I just feel like I take it just as serious if not more. That’s been really surprising for me.”
Get tickets at www.usopen.org/en_US/tickets or watch on the ESPN family of networks, with replays at night on Tennis Channel.
