2013 U.S. Open Preview: Day Nine

Fourth round action in the top half of the men’ draw on Day Nine on the 2012 U.S. Open on Tuesday is headlined by three former U.S. Open winners, the reigning champion Andy Murray, the 2011 champ Novak Djokovic and the 2001 winner, Lleyton Hewitt. Tuesday’s forecast calls for temperatures in the upper-70s to low 80s, with morning showers set to fade at around 10:00 a.m. EST giving way to afternoon sun.

Kicking things off at 11:00 a.m. EST at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the final spot in the women’s quarterfinals will be decided as the second-seeded Victoria Azarenka will face the number 13 seed, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. Azarenka leads the head-to-head 4-2 and has won their last three encounters. This match was washed out due to the Monday rain. Immediately following on Ashe, Ekaterina Makarova, the number 24 seed from Russia, will face the number five seed, Na Li of China. Na Li has a perfect 3-0 record lifetime against Makarova.

Finishing off the Day Session at Ashe, it will be world number one Djokovic taking on Spaniard Marcel Granollers for the second time (Djokovic leads 1-0). Djokovic is attempting to reach his 18th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal, while Granollers, who has advanced to the fourth round at the Open for the first time by winning three straight five-set matches, is eyeing his first major singles quarterfinal appearance. Djokovic has a 25-2 career record in Grand Slam fourth round matches, winning his last 24 since a 2007 Australian Open loss to Roger Federer.

Under the Tuesday lights at Ashe, it will be the top-seeded Serena Williams looking to step closer to her U.S. Open title defense as she faces Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, the number 18 seed. Closing things out at Ashe on Tuesday will be defending men’s singles champion and world number three Murray who is looking for his second win in as many meetings against number 65-ranked Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Murray, who has only been broken twice in the tournament, has won 11 straight fourth round Grand Slam matches since losing in round four at the 2010 French Open. Istomin is 0-6 lifetime against top 10 opponents in Grand Slam play and is 1-19 overall in his career.

At Louis Armstrong Stadium, it will be the number 21 seed and two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny facing 2001 U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt, who holds a 5-1 head-to-head advantage. The 31-year-old Youzhny and 32-year-old Hewitt are two of the five players over the age of 30 who have reached the fourth round. Hewitt is playing in the second week at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2006 when he reached the quarterfinals.

Also at Louis Armstrong, the fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych and ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka will meet for the 12th time. Wawrinka leads the rivalry 6-5, but Berdych holds a 4-3 edge on hard courts and he won the only previous meeting in a major, in the third round of the 2009 Australian Open. Berdych was an Open a semifinalist last year, and is one of four players left who has not dropped a set.

The rain forced the cancellation on many of the U.S. Open Junior matches Monday. On Tuesday, Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Daniel Kerznerman will face the number 13 seed, Belgium’s Clement Geens in second round action of the Boys Singles draw on Court 13. Kerznerman was a 6-1, 6-3 round one winner over Harry Bourchier. Later on, Court 13 will feature Geens again, this time in boys’ doubles action as he teams with Rockville Centre, N.Y.’s Noah Rubin. The seventh-seeded duo of Rubin & Geens will face the Japanese team of Ken Onishi & Takashi Saito in opening round boys doubles action.

After a washout Monday, Rubin will play his rescheduled boys singles match Tuesday on Court 4 as he faces Germany’s Hannes Wagner in opening round action. Also on Court 4, it will be New Yorker Louisa Chirico, the number 10 seed in the girls’ singles draw, in second round action as she faces Ukranian Viktoriya Lushkova. And like Rubin, Chirico will return to Court 4 later as she teams with Alejandra Cisneros of Mexico to face the Japanese team of Mami Adachi & Hikari Yamamoto in opening round girls’ doubles action.

And on Court 9, it will be Varvara Flink of Russia teaming with Ossining, N.Y. native Jamie Loeb as they face the all-American team of Tornado Alicia Black & Peggy Porter. Loeb was eliminated from girls singles play on Monday after a 6-4, 4-6, 1-6 loss to Serbian Ivana Jorovic.

Click here to view the full Day Nine Schedule of Play at the 2013 U.S. Open.