Three to See, US Open Day 2: Wozniacki vs. Stosur; Anisimova, Tiafoe

Tennis Channel Live at the US Open: Breaking down the bottom half of the women's draw

Each day, we'll preview three must-see matches from the US Open.

[2] Caroline Wozniacki vs. Sam Stosur

For the second day in a row, we have a first-round matchup pitting Grand Slam champions against each other. (See: Venus Williams vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova.) Although Stosur is at the tail end of her career, she still owns one of the game's best-ever kick serves and plays some of her best tennis at the US Open, having won here in 2011. Aggressive to a fault, Stosur serves her opponent off the court and looks to find her massive forehand to control the point and her opponent.

Wozniacki, a natural counterpuncher, will be right at home chasing down Stosur's heavy barrage of groundstrokes. The Dane is at her best playing defense, and she will look use her phenomenal anticipation skills to combat Stosur's power. She'll need every bit of her counterpunching savvy to take down the heavy-hitter from Australia—the same country where she won a Grand Slam title, on hard courts, just a few months ago.

The Pick: Wozniacki

Taylor Townsend vs. Amanda Anisimova

Anisimova is the real deal. At just 16 years old, she has a world-class backhand, a massive forehand, and already hits one of the bigger, cleaner balls on the tour. She used her talents to reach the fourth round of Indian Wells, taking down two-time slam champion Petra Kvitova in the process, and after missing a chunk of time due to injury, she advanced to the round of 16 in San Jose and Cincinnati.

Townsend, a big-hitting lefty, owns one of the better serves on tour. She loves to take the ball early and move forward whenever possible. Expect a battle between the two talented players competing for the biggest first-round payout in tennis history.

If you have not seen Anisimova play, this is a good opportunity. Although Townsend has the experience factor, I expect the greater talent to prevail, and perhaps even start a big run at Flushing Meadows.

The Pick: Anisimova

Tennis Channel Live at the US Open: Breaking down the bottom half of the men's draw

Frances Tiafoe vs. [29] Adrian Mannarino

Mannarino has performed well all season, climbing to a career high No. 22 earlier this year and earning one of the last remaining seeds in Flushing Meadows. But despite his ranking advantage, he isn't the oddsmakers’ favorite against Tiafoe.

I was fortunate enough to train with Frances at JTCC in College Park, Maryland my senior year of high school. Frances is one of the kindest, happiest guys you will ever meet. He is also one of the strongest and fastest. At just 13 years old, Tiafoe was beating numerous NCAA Division I college-bound seniors. Even then, his forehand was almost always the biggest weapon on the court.

This matchup will pit the smooth and crafty Frenchman against Tiafoe's powerful all-court game. Both players possess exceptional hands and consider themselves entertainers as well as tennis players. Expect plenty of trick shots and cat-and-mouse points. And expect a rowdy, pro-American crowd to get its way.

The Pick: Tiafoe

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