2016 U.S. Open Day 11 Preview: Women’s Semis and a Farewell to Louis Armstrong Stadium Highlight Thursday’s Action

Thursday, Day 11 of the U.S. Open will present a light schedule, as the men take a break and four women take the spotlight to determine which two of the 2016 semifinalists will compete Saturday for the final Grand Slam title of 2016. In addition, a farewell salute to Louis Armstrong Stadium will take place, as the Stadium will be dismantled after the 2016 U.S. Open. The new Louis Armstrong stadium will make its debut at the 2018 U.S. Open.

Opening the semifinals under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium at 7:00 p.m., it will be the 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova meeting the top-seeded Serena Williams. It took Serena five matches to finally drop a set in Flushing Meadows, having marched through the first four rounds without dropping a set until the quarterfinals where she dropped the second set to Simona Halep. Equally as dominant, Pliskova had dropped just one set as well in a Round of 16 win over Venus Williams.

Serena and Pliskova have met just once to date, a 2014 hard court win by Serena at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic in the Round of 16.Thursday’s semifinal encounter marks the furthest the 24-year-old Pliskova has advanced at a Grand Slam.

“I played her once only in Stanford I think two or three years ago,” said Pliskova of her semifinal opponent. “I was a completely different player at that time. I have improved a lot and obviously she probably has as well. She's a big hitter and she can have 50 winners and you cannot do much about it. I played Venus this week … it's very similar game. I'll just have to be ready for it.”

The 34-year-old Serena is attempting to win her seventh U.S. Open title, having taken the championship in 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

“I have been really stressed out in a few of the matches, but I felt pretty good in most of the rounds,” said Serena of her run so far in Flushing Meadows. “I think what makes me really calm is the fact that I know I can play so much better and I have to. I think everyone here knows I can play better.”

Closing out the night at Ashe will be the unseeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark meeting world number two Angelique Kerber of Germany. Kerber has a 7-5 edge in 12 career meetings between the two, the most recent, a Round of 16 win by Kerber in 2015 on the hard courts in Beijing.

Wozniacki, unseeded at the U.S. Open and currently ranked 74th in the world, comes into the semis having dropped just one set, the opening set in her first round match against American Taylor Townsend. Since then, she has rolled, taking out two top 10 players, Madison Keys and Svetlana Kuznetsova, in her run.

“We are similar in that we are both hard working,” Wozniacki said in praising Kerber. “I think that hard work pays off. She's obviously very passionate. She loves what she's doing and it shows. She's had a great year and I'm happy for her.”

Kerber continues to pursue Serena for the top spot atop the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings. Serena held a 190-point advantage over Kerber coming into the U.S. Open, but when last year’s points are dropped (Williams reached the semis, and Kerber fell in the third round in 2015), Kerber has a 460-point advantage. In order to remain at number one, Serena will need to reach the finals to have a chance at keeping her number one ranking. A potential championship match showdown between Serena and Kerber would see the winner walk away not only with the trophy, but the world number one ranking.

“Caroline is always a tough opponent,” said Kerber. “We know each other very well. I remember long matches with her, and I remember we had tough rallies. I'm looking forward to take the chance again with her to play and to take the challenge.”

Thursday will also mark the end of an era in Flushing Meadows as Louis Armstrong Stadium will close its doors before being dismantled at the conclusion of the Open. The USTA’s Second Annual Community Day at the U.S. Open on Thursday will once again feature complimentary grounds admission to fans attending during the afternoon, with the farewell to Louis Armstrong Stadium headlining the Community Day festivities.

Fans enjoying complimentary admission–available from noon to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday–will be able to see a variety of tennis action on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Henri Leconte of France & Mats Wilander of Sweden will face the all-American duo of John & Patrick McEnroe at 12:30 p.m. at P6/Old Grandstand in a Men’s Champions Doubles semifinals matchup, while on Court 6, another American duo, Michael Chang & Rick Leach face the Australian duo of Pat Cash & Mark Philippoussis in the second Men’s Champions Doubles semifinals match.

Community Day will also feature complimentary matches including the Men’s and Women’s Doubles Semifinals, the third annual American Collegiate Invitational and the world’s top boys and girls competing in the U.S. Open Junior Championships.

“The U.S. Open has the greatest fans in the world, and we wanted to say thank you by opening the doors to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for a day of complimentary tennis on Community Day,” said Katrina Adams, chairman of the board and president of the USTA. “We want to give all New Yorkers the opportunity to experience the highest level of the sport in person, and introduce as many people as possible to a sport that you can play for life.”

The goodbye celebration to Louis Armstrong Stadium will take place from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., with gates to the stadium opening at 3:30 p.m. The celebration will include a number of components, including an exhibition match featuring former world number four James Blake, 17-time Grand Slam Doubles Champion Gigi Fernandez and top American juniors. With a special, four-camera set-up, this match will transform the fan experience from that of a traditional tennis match, by having each competitor select “face filters,” which will correspond with an avatar that will appear on the big screens. Their movement throughout the court will then be able to be viewed in live action on the playing surface, or in a digital sense on the big screens in the stadium.

Following the celebration, select fans age 8-12 will then have the opportunity to hit on the court of Louis Armstrong Stadium for one last time, from 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. (fans will be selected based on a first-come-first-served basis).

In addition, throughout the day and around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, a select number of fans will be randomly awarded tickets to the Women’s Singles Semifinals, which will be held later that evening.

Grammy-nominated DJ, RAC, will be mixing throughout the event, incorporating the sounds of the U.S. Open into the experience, utilizing audio he has recorded throughout the grounds and the stadium, in addition to prerecorded music.

Click here to view the full schedule of play for Day 11 at the 2016 U.S. Open.