Three to See, US Open Day 5: Serena, Federer—and Keys vs. Kenin

Before each day's play at the 2019 US Open, we'll preview three must-see matches.

We might call this a race between the tortoise and the hare of U.S. women’s tennis this summer. Kenin, despite being the speedier of the two players, is the tortoise in that metaphor. She has been one of the WTA’s steadiest performers of the summer, on clay, grass and hard courts, and has slowly but surely pushed her ranking into the Top 20. Keys, meanwhile, had disappointing results at Wimbledon and in Toronto, before shifting straight into top gear and winning the title in Cincinnati—where she beat Kenin in two close sets in the semifinals.

All of which means that the result of this rematch will lie squarely on Keys’ racquet. Can she keep up her hot streak? If so, she should be too powerful for Kenin. If not, she won’t be consistent enough for her. I picked Keys to win the tournament, so I have to believe she’ll stay in high gear. Winner: Keys

Here’s a matchup to please casual and hardcore fans alike. Muchova, a 23-year-old Czech, is something of a late-bloomer, having only arrived on most people’s radar screens last month when she reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. But from everything she showed us there, it will have been worth the wait. Muchova plays with a subtle all-court variety that brings to mind a Czech champion of the past, Hana Mandlikova.

Now the question is: Will it work against Serena? Sometimes Serena has trouble against finesse players—witness her loss to Roberta Vinci here in 2015. Other times she doesn’t—witness her demolition of Anastasija Sevastova last year. Muchova had to work hard get past Su-Wei Hsieh in a third-set tiebreaker on a hot Thursday. Unlike Serena, she’ll only have 24 hours to recover. Winner: Williams

Judging by their rankings, career records, and stature in the sport, this is an obvious mismatch. But judging by their last meeting, at the Australian Open, this could be fun. Evans, a shotmaker and a risk-taker, pushed Federer to tiebreakers in the first two sets before falling in three entertaining sets. Throw in the fact that Evans is coming off a solid win over Lucas Pouille, and the fact that Federer has gotten off to mystifyingly awful starts in his last two matches, and this one could become intriguing. To a point: When it came down to closing out those two close sets in Australia, Evans blinked. Winner: Federer

Wake up every morning with Tennis Channel Live at the US Open, starting at 8 a.m. ET. For three hours leading up to the start of play, Tennis Channel's team will break down upcoming matches, review tournament storylines and focus on everything Flushing Meadows.

Tennis Channel's encore, all-night match coverage will begin every evening at 11 p.m. ET, with the exception of earlier starts on Saturday and Sunday of championship weekend.