TENNIS.com Wednesday picks:

Agnes Szavay (HUN) v. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[4]Arthur Ashe Stadium – 2nd match

These two played the final of New Haven the week before the U.S. Open, when Szavay reached the final as a qualifier and won the first set before her back gave way in the second. For Kuznetsova, it was a lukewarm way to win her first title of the year, and even her win-loss record this year isn’t as good as Szavay’s – 42-13 for the 22-year-old Russian and 45-12 for the 18-year-old Hungarian.

After a bout of mononucleosis last year, Szavay has been moving up at a rapid pace, winning her first career title at Palermo and going from outside the top 200 to inside the 20s with this fourth-round result. She’s shown she’s competitive with Kuznetsova, so can her entertaining game take her a round further?

Yes, but this is the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, and only Kuznetsova has been only before – six times, in fact. Szavay has never been past the second round in either of the two Slams she’s played so far in her career. The 2004 champion, Kuznetsova has been dealing with some niggling physical problems of late, but this wide-open part of the draw gives her an excellent chance to turn a good year into a very good or great one.

Prediction: Kuznetsova.

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[4] v. Tommy Haas (GER)[10]Arthur Ashe Stadium – 3rd match

Need a primer for this match. Just take a look at their previous two matches They met in the quarterfinals of the US Open last year as well, with Davydenko coming from two sets down to win 4-6, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. They next played in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Haas came back from two sets to one down to win 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Davydenko seems to have shrugged off the gambling accusations swirling around him and has quietly been playing very solid tennis. Haas has played two five-setters – including an uproarious one with James Blake in his last round – so he may not have as much in the tank as Davydenko if this match also goes long. And while he says he’s no longer feeling the shoulder problems he was having before the tournament, going down early in the tennis match often exacerbates niggling injuries. Haas is capable of winning this encounter, but he’ll have to dig deeper to do it than Davydenko.

Prediction: Davydenko

Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[3] v. Venus Williams (USA)[12]Arthur Ashe Stadium – 4th match

How top heavy is the women’s draw? Normally, quarterfinals in the same half of the draw are played on the same day, to give both winners as close to equal rest as possible. But putting both this match and Serena Williams vs. Justine Henin on the same day – leaving Shahar Peer vs. Anna Chakvetadze and Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Agnes Szavay for Wednesday – was deemed so lopsided that the USTA decided to spread the wealth by putting this match on Wednesday evening. Neither player shuns the on-court spotlight, so both agreed to the witch even though the winner will go into the semifinal with day’s less rest.
 
Venus looked virtually unbeatable during her dominating performance against Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round, but Jankovic has no fear of playing the elder Williams – she’s won their last three meetings. Still, Jankovic has been struggling in her last few matches, and will have to raise her game substantially to be competitive. If she doesn’t, this delayed -for-TV match will fizzle. Venus has been serving well while Jankovic’s serve remains a weakness for the Serbian, who will have to hit her signature one-handed backhand down the line with absolute precision to get it past Williams’ long reach.

Prediction: Venus Williams

Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Andy Roddick (USA)[5]Arthur Ashe Stadium 5th match

No one beats Andy Roddick 10 times in a row? We’re about to find out. When these two met in the Australian Open semifinals, a tight match was expected but Roddick ended up getting blown away by a spectacular performance from Federer. Now, even Roddick concedes that Federer must be regarded as a heavy favorite.

Roddick has only had to complete two of his four matches at this event so far, having received retirements from Jose Acasuso and Tomas Berdych, but has only looked convincing in one – his win over Thomas Johansson in the third round.

Federer is more vulnerable in the earlier round and did look human when he went down a set to an inspired Feliciano Lopez on Monday evening, but it’s lot easier to sneak up on Federer and get a lead when he’s not expecting you to. Federer respects Roddick enough to be on guard from the every first point.

Having played each other 14 times – Federer has won all but one of those encounters – there will be few surprises on the court. “I’m not going to watch him tonight and [suddenly] discover that he’s good,” said Roddick on Monday evening.

The other about having played so many times, however, is that Roddick has attempted just about every trick in the book against Federer in the past four years – nothing has secured him a W. “He’s played in different ways against me... returning from far back, returning in, chip and charging, serve and volleying, playing from the baseline with me, ” said Federer.

So for Roddick to pull off the win, he’ll have to have a perfect serving day and come up with something that completely surprises Federer – and shocks everyone else.

Prediction: Federer