U.S. Open Preview: Top Seeds Highlight Opening Round Action on Day One

August 31, 2015 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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The final Grand Slam of 2015 is here. Monday, Aug. 31st is Day One of the 2015 U.S. Open, marked by a full slate of action across the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Cloudy skies and temps in the 90s, will little chance of precipitation, should allow for a day's worth of matches as both top seeds take to the court to begin their journey to Open glory in NYC.

On the men’s side of the draw, top-seeded Novak Djokovic takes to the court in mid-afternoon when he faces Brazil’s Joao Souza at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Note than Djokovic faces Brazil’s Joao Souza, not Joao Souza from Portugal who kicks things off at 11:00 a.m. on Court 15 against Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis. This meeting marks Djokovic’s first-ever career encounter with Souza, as he seeks to extend his streak of quarterfinal appearances at his 25 consecutive last Grand Slams.

Under the lights on Day One and closing out the night is Croatia’s Borna Coric as he faces the eighth-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal, who missed last year’s U.S. Open with a right wrist injury, is 0-1 lifetime to the 18-year-old Croatian, with Coric winning the previous meeting in the Basel quarterfinals last October.  

At Louis Armstrong Stadium, the fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan will be seeking another trip to the finals in Flushing Meadows, as he meets the Frenchman Benoit Paire to get the action underway at 11:00a.m. Nishikori brings a 2-0 head-to-head record in against Paire, who won his first ATP World Tour title last month in Bastad. Nishikori is a three-time ATP World Tour winner this year and he comes in seeded a career-best number four in a Grand Slam tournament.

Also on Armstrong, the defending U.S. Open champion and number nine seed Marin Cilic will face qualifier Guido Pella of Argentina. Cilic, who defeated Nishikori for the men’s singles title last year, became the first Croat to win a Grand Slam title since his own coach Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001.

The 16 seed Gael Monfils will meet, for the first time, qualifier Illya Marchenko of the Ukraine. Monfils, always a fan favorite in Flushing Meadows, is a two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist, having advanced to the quarters in both 2010 and 2014.

On the Grandstand, could it be farewell for American Mardy Fish as he continues his retirement tour against Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in the pair’s first-ever meeting? Cecchinato seeks his first career Tour level win (0-7) and appears in his first main draw Slam tournament. Fish is playing in his first Grand Slam tournament since advancing to fourth round at the U.S. Open in 2012. Fish is making his 13th main draw appearance in Flushing Meadows, and has an 18-11 record over that span.

Also on the Grandstand, the number seven seed, Spain’s David Ferrer will face Radu Albot of Moldova in their first-ever match. Ferrer has a 10-2 record in opening round matches at the Open, having lost to Robbie Ginepri in 2003 and Fish in 2004.

On the American front, joining Fish in action on Day One will be qualifier Tommy Paul taking on the number 25 seed, Italy’s Andreas Seppi on Court 6, wild card Ryan Shane taking on Jeremy Chardy of France on Court 7; Tim Smyczek taking on the 10th seed Milos Raonic of Canada on Court 17; and Steve Johnson facing Italy’s Fabio Fognini on Court 17.

In the women’s draw on Day One, the top seeded Serena Williams will begin her quest for the title as she begins night action at 7:00 p.m. at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Serena, on a 28-match winning streak at the Grand Slam level, having won the 2014 U.S. Open, 2015 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2015 Wimbledon—her second non-calendar year Grand Slam. Serena faces Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, making her second main draw appearance at the U.S. Open, and first since qualifying in 2011.

But before Serena takes the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, kicking things off at 11:00 a.m., Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova will face the number seven seed, Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic. The pair have split the four matches played to date, with Cibulkova coming off a run to the quarterfinals at last week’s New Haven event.

Over at Louis Armstrong, two Americans, Coco Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens, face each other for the fourth time, with Vandeweghe holding a 2-1 lifetime advantage.

For the first time, American Anna Tatishvili will face the eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova on the Grandstand. Pliskova is making her third main draw appearance at U.S. Open, while Tatishvili makes her fourth Open appearance.

While her sister Serena aims for history, the 23rd-seeded Venus Williams in in action on Day One as well, facing Monica Puig. Venus holds a 1-0 lifetime advantage over Puig, and at 35 years of age, is the oldest player in this year’s U.S. Open field.

The 19th-seeded American Madison Keys will be in action on the Grandstand as she faces Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic. Keys leads the head-to-head 2-0, and owns a 10-3 record in Grand Slam first round matches.

Over on Court 17, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, the 25 seed, will face American Alison Riske. Bouchard holds a 4-1 head-to-head record, and enters the U.S. Open with a 9-17 record on the year.

Click here to view the full Schedule of Matches for Day One of the 2015 U.S. Open. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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