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.

It’s extremely rare to see a player serve and volley on every point on the ATP Tour. It’s even less often that a player routinely hits second serves quicker than 120 miles per hour. But Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t seem to mind on Wednesday evening inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion eliminated wild card Maxime Cressy 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the fifth time. He had only won one US Open match entering this year’s event. But the fourth seed has looked impressive en route to the third round at Flushing Meadows. 

“It’s very unusual to be playing a player who is hitting both serves [that hard],” Tsitsipas said on court. “He’s a player who can play very well in the future. His game is very difficult to read and he has a very good serve-and-volley game. You don’t get to play against players like this very often.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas” />
^{Photo Credit: Darren Carroll/USTA}
It was a fun match-up inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Cressy, an old-school player, charged the net 92 times, winning 52 of those points. The former UCLA Bruin struck 21 aces to only 10 double faults despite his extreme aggression, forcing Tsitsipas to be sharp. Cressy also showed great hands at the net, sticking his volleys well in the early going. The American held a set point on Tsitsipas’ serve at 5-4 in the opening set, but the fourth seed wiped out the chance with a big body serve.

A sloppy tie-break in the first set proved pivotal for Cressy’s chances. Once Tsitsipas took the opener thanks to unforced errors from his opponent, he loosened up with his groundstrokes and started to find more holes with his passing shots, advancing after two hours and 23 minutes.

“His game is very unorthodox to be honest with you. You don’t have players like this on Tour,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s a rare species of a tennis player, that’s what he is.”

This was World No. 168 Cressy’s first tour-level event. Tsitsipas has played a lot of big servers since the ATP Tour returned at the Western & Southern Open. At that event he defeated 6’8 Kevin Anderson, 6’10 John Isner and 6’11 Reilly Opelka before losing against 6’5 Milos Raonic in the semi-finals. The Greek has won all six of his sets in this US Open.

Tsitsipas will face a totally different stylistic match in the next round against 27th seed Borna Coric. The Croatian rallied to oust Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 after four hours and 19 minutes.

Coric, who watched the end of Tsitsipas’ win from his private suite inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, made the fourth round of the US Open in 2018.

The winner of their match will not have to play a seeded opponent in the Round of 16. Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin upset 13th seed Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5 after three hours and 59 minutes.

Garin rallied from two sets down in his first-round match against Ulises Blanch, but the four-time ATP Tour champion was unable to come all the way back again. Kukushkin will play Aussie Jordan Thompson, who beat Berlarusian Egor Gerasimov 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Denis Shapovalov appeared in trouble on Louis Armstrong Stadium Wednesday evening. But the Canadian got his night train rolling to reverse course and reach the third round of the US Open.

Shapovalov defeated Soonwoo Kwon 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Round of 32 at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time in his four appearances. The dynamic lefty also needed four sets in his first-round victory against #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda.

Kwon, a solid baseliner from South Korea, led 4-2 in the third set. But Shapovalov immediately earned a “boomerang break” to get back on serve, roaring “C’mon! Let’s go!” when Kwon missed a forehand long. The 12th seed then broke in his next return game with a laser-like backhand passing shot down the line and he never looked back.

Shapovalov won six consecutive games to take control of the match and avoid an upset against Kwon, who ousted Milos Raonic at this year’s New York Open. Although Kwon played a solid match, Shapovalov’s aggression proved too much to overcome. The Canadian crushed 62 winners to 19 for Kwon.

The 21-year-old will next meet American Taylor Fritz, who beat former World No. 6 Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. The 19th seed, who hit 16 aces against Simon, will try to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time.

Shapovalov leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 2-0. Both men are alumni of the Next Gen ATP Finals.

^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/USTA}
David Goffin shook off Lloyd Harris on Wednesday to book a place in the US Open third round. In a match that featured 10 breaks of serve, the seventh seed battled Harris and humid conditions in a 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over two hours and 53 minutes.

Goffin recovered from 3/5 down in the first set tie-break, prior to five straight service breaks at the start of the second set. The Belgian won 16 out of 22 points from 1-1 in the third set to seize the momentum and broke in the ninth game of the fourth set.

The World No. 10, who hit 29 winners including 12 aces, will aim to improve upon 43 per cent of his second-serve points won in his next match against No. 26 seed Filip Krajinovic, who dominated Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

Goffin is now one victory away from reaching the US Open fourth round for a fourth successive year. Last week, the 29-year-old advanced to the third round at the Western & Southern Open (l. to Struff).