Before each day's play at Flushing Meadows, we'll preview and predict three must-see matches.
This could be the toughest test Serena faces in her Grand Slam quest. At 20, Keys looks like a future major champion in her own right, and she’s one of the few women who can give as good as she gets from the baseline against Serena. They’ve played once, at this year's Australian Open, and while Serena won in straights, Keys broke out of the gate quickly and more than held her own in the rallies. Keys is also coming off one of the best wins of her career, a 6-3, 6-2 dismissal of Agnieszka Radwanska. Madison had lost all of their previous meetings; this time she dismissed Aga with nary a second glance.
That doesn’t mean she’s going to keep it up against Serena, of course; it might even make it more likely that Keys throws in a clunker. But this is one match that won’t reside exclusively on Serena's racquet. Will the fact that she knows this make her sharper in the early going than she has been? It would probably be a good idea. Winner: S. Williams
Along with Johanna Konta on the women's side, Paire has been the revelation of the tournament so far. He began it by recording his first Top 5 win, over Kei Nishikori, and then, perhaps even more surprisingly, this most mercurial of players followed it up with two more wins. The Frenchman has always had the shotmaking talent; at the moment he's putting that talent to better use, and has a chance to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. His countryman Tsonga, meanwhile, has been flying under the proverbial radar in a decimated section of the draw. There's a path to the semis for both men, which means there's a lot at stake in this one. Tsonga won their only two meetings, but they haven't played since 2012. Winner: Paire
How is it possible that the 33-year-old Lopez and the 28-year-old Fognini, who have been on tour together for 11 years, have never played each other? This will be meeting No. 1, and it will be a big one, for a spot in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, a place that neither of them know all that well—at the Open, they have zero appearances in the quarters between them. What they do have in common is some recent excellent play against Rafael Nadal; Feli edged him in Cincinnati, while Fognini did the same on Friday night in New York. Each will want to replicate that performance on Sunday: For Lopez, it means serving lights out; for Fognini, it means keeping his forehand laser sharp. What are the chances that both of them do it at the same time? This one could go on for a while. Winner: Lopez