When Stefanos Tsitsipas walked onto the court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday evening, he was struck by a plaque on the wall. It was a Billie Jean King quote stating, “pressure is a privilege”.

“I found this very special, this message. It’s very deep,” Tsitsipas said. “Playing on Arthur Ashe was an amazing experience. I think it would have been even better if there were people watching and it would create a mesmerising atmosphere and [be] more intense, that’s for sure. Despite that I still felt special playing on the court.”

The moment was a long time coming for the Greek star. When he was eight, he watched from afar as Marcos Baghdatis battled Andre Agassi for five scintillating sets on the same court in the 2006 second round.

“My hero [is] Marcos and [he is] now my best friend, which is quite special. He lost in five sets, but the effort, the adrenaline, the crowd atmosphere, you had everything in that match and there was drama,” Tsitsipas said. “I think for Marcos, facing his idol was quite special.”

Tsitsipas also remembers watching Novak Djokovic play Juan Martin del Potro in the final two years ago, Stan Wawrinka lifting the trophy in 2016 and many of Serena Williams’ matches.

“I was still very young and had big dreams of playing there one day,” he said.

The first match Tsitsipas watched inside the stadium in person was the 2015 semi-final between Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. He was in New York to compete in the US Open boys’ singles event.

 

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Night session at the #ArthurAshe!

A post shared by Stefanos Tsitsipas (@stefanostsitsipas98) on Sep 11, 2015 at 6:32pm PDT

The 22-year-old defeated Maxime Cressy in straight sets to reach the third round, but it was not in front of the thousands of fans that would usually pack the stadium if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. Tsitsipas will play his third-round match on Friday inside Louis Armstrong Stadium against 27th seed Borna Coric.

The future of tennis will be on display on Friday at the US Open with a pair of third-round matches showcasing some of the most talented young stars in the sport. Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas battles No. 27 seed Borna Coric and No. 12 seed Denis Shapovalov squares off against No. 19 seed Taylor Fritz.

Tsitsipas has embraced his role as a top contender to win in New York and powered through his first two rounds without dropping a set. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion (d. Thiem) has already surpassed his best result at the US Open and looks to maintain his momentum against Coric. The 23-year-old Croatian made his Grand Slam breakthrough at this event by reaching the second week in 2018 and his win over Dominic Thiem this January at the ATP Cup reaffirmed that he’s capable of beating the world’s best.

Shapovalov holds a flawless 2-0 record in his ATP Head2Head series with Fritz. The 21-year-old Canadian has never lost before the third round in four US Open appearances and his 9-3 record in New York is by far his best at a major championship. He’s aiming to reach the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time since his US Open debut in 2017, when he captivated fans by coming through qualifying before beating Daniil Medvedev and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“Every year I’ve played here, I’ve had amazing support,” Shapovalov said. “It was a really good start for my career and it’s left such a great feeling for me every time I come back to New York, I always have a little bit of confidence just because I feel like it all kind of started for me in Montreal and New York.”

Fritz seeks his maiden appearance in the second week of a major championship. The American baseliner reached his first ATP 500 final this February in Acapulco (l. to Nadal).

Five years ago, they both won #USOpen junior titles.

In the @USOpen 3R on Friday, No. 2 American @Taylor_Fritz97 and No. 1 Canadian @Denis_Shapo meet in one of the biggest matches of their respective careers.

Fritz Pic: @USTA / Rachel Kaplan
Shapovalov Pic: USTA / Peter Staples pic.twitter.com/5cAbc7OkhU

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) September 3, 2020

Top seed Novak Djokovic puts his unbeaten (25-0) streak in 2020 on the line when he faces No. 28 seed Jan-Lennard Struff. The three-time US Open champion leads Struff 4-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and convincingly defeated the German last week in the Western & Southern Open quarter-finals, but Struff took a set in their clash at this year’s Australian Open. Djokovic hit 51 winners in a high-quality four-set win on Wednesday against Kyle Edmund and remains the on-paper favourite to lift the trophy next Sunday.

“I don’t feel like energy or recovery is going to be an issue for me. On the contrary, I actually feel very fit,” Djokovic said. “I like my chances [in a] best-of-five [match] on center court at the US Open against anybody in the world. Being an experienced player and playing on big stages so many times helps in these particular situations. I’m just going to do what I know works best for me and hope for the best.”

Fifth seed Alexander Zverev has consistently improved his US Open results each year and hopes to continue that trend when he meets No. 32 seed Adrian Mannarino. The German leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0. Although Zverev has struggled with his serve at times this week and hit 16 double faults across his first two matches, the 23-year-old is pleased with his progress and the work he’s put in with his new coach, former World No. 3 David Ferrer.

“The work has been incredible. I enjoyed the practices more than I did in the past few years,” Zverev said. “I think he’s enjoying it, I’m enjoying it, and he said the most important thing is to have fun with what you do.”

Other notable matches on Friday include seventh seed David Goffin taking on No. 26 seed Filip Krajinovic. The Belgian has lost his past two matches to Krajinovic (1-2) in their ATP Head2Head series. Pablo Carreno Busta, the No. 20 seed and 2017 US Open semi-finalist, looks to continue his success in New York against Ricardas Berankis.

Rounding out the Day 5 schedule is Jordan Thompson squaring off with Mikhail Kukushkin and Cameron Norrie facing 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals participant Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2020
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM start 12:00 pm
WTA Match
[12] Denis Shapovalov v [19] Taylor Fritz

Not Before 7:00 pm
[1] Novak Djokovic v [28] Jan-Lennard Struff
WTA Match

LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM start 11:00 am
Two WTA Matches
[5] Alexander Zverev v [32] Adrian Mannarino
[4] Stefanos Tsitsipas v [27] Borna Coric
WTA Match

COURT 17 start 11:00am
Two WTA Matches
[20] Pablo Carreno Busta v Ricardas Berankis

Click here to view the full US Open Day 5 schedule.

Dominic Thiem made it a 27th birthday to remember on Thursday afternoon when the second seed completed a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 second-round victory over Sumit Nagal in two hours in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Austrian, who has bounced back from an opening-round exit at last week’s Western & Southern Open (l. to Krajinovic), will now challenge 2014 champion and No. 31 seed Marin Cilic. Thiem has a 2-0 lead in their ATP2Head series, including a 7-6(7), 6-4 win at the Rogers Cup last year.

Thiem started in confident fashion by taking a 3-0 lead, and while Nagal converted his fifth break point at 1-3, the 23-year-old Indian’s depth of shot was ultimately exposed. From 3-3 in the first set, Thiem won five straight games as Nagal, competing with a great deal of self belief, was consistently slow to move into the court for the short ball.

Thiem, runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January, was broken when serving for the second set at 5-2. But he immediately bounced back and went on to run through the third set, losing just two of his 16 service points. 

Cilic, who lost to Denis Shapovalov in the Western & Southern Open first round last week, recorded his 10th match win of the season by beating World No. 104 Norbert Gombos 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 in just under three hours. Cilic struck 35 winners, including 15 aces.