2012 U.S. Open Preview (Day Six)
Saturday action at the 2012 U.S. Open kicks off the Labor Day weekend at 11:00 a.m. at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, as the field narrows further as we are just one week away from the 2012 finals. Getting underway at 11:00 a.m. at Arthur Ashe Stadium is number two-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland facing the 30th-seed, Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic. Jankovic was a finalist at the Open in 2008, while Radwanska looks to solidify her spot atop the WTA Rankings, one step away from the top spot. American Serena Williams will continue her post-Olympic Gold Medal run at Ashe Stadium as she faces Russian Ekaterina Makarova. Serena will surely have revenge on her mind after bowing out to Makarova earlier this year at the Australian Open, 6-2, 6-3. Top-seeded male and five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer will take to Ashe to close out the Day Session as he faces Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, the number 25 seed.
The Night Session at Ashe begins with American upstart Sloane Stephens facing Serbian Ana Ivanovic at 7:00 p.m. under the lights. Stephens continues her run deep into week one at the Open, after having already scored victories over Tatjana Malek of Germany and having scored a huge opening round upset, a 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, the number 22 seed. Closing out action on Ashe Saturday night will be the 23 seeded American Mardy Fish facing 16th-seeded Frenchmen Gilles Simon.
At Louis Armstrong Stadium, Olympic Gold Medal winner Andy Murray of Great Britain, the number three seed, will meet the number 30 seed, Feliciano Lopez of Spain. Also at Louis Armstrong, sixth-seeded German Angelique Kerber, who entertained the New York crowds in the Thursday nightcap with a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 win over Venus Williams, will face the unseeded Olga Govortsova of Belarus. Rounding out action Saturday at Louis Armstrong will be American Sam Querrey, the number 27 seed, facing the sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
American players will dominate the schedule Saturday at the Grandstand as Jack Sock faces the number 11 seed, Nicolas Almagro of Spain; James Blake faces the 15th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic; and the newly-formed mixed-doubles tandem of Bob Bryan & Belgium’s Kim Clijsters face off with Russian Ekaterina Makarova & Bruno Soares of Brazil.
Other Saturday highlights at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center include:
â–ºFourteenth-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia facing the Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova at the Grandstand
â–ºMarin Cilic of Croatia, the number 12 seed, facing 17th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan on Court 17
â–ºThe American men’s doubles team of Ryan & Christian Harrison facing the Israeli duo of Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram on Court 11
â–ºThe American women’s doubles team of Irina Falconi & Maria Sanchez facing the fourth-seeded women’s doubles team of Maria Kirilenko & Nadia Petrova from Russia on Court 11
â–ºSantiago Gonzalez of Mexico & Merrick, N.Y. native Scott Lipsky, the 16th-seeds, facing the team of Pablo Andujar & Guillermo Garcia-Lopez from Spain on Court 7
Action also continues on Saturday the Junior Boys and Girls Qualifying Singles.
Click here for the complete schedule for Day Six of the 2012 U.S. Open.
