US Open: 2nd Round Predictions for Day 4

The Top 3 on Day 4

Angelique Kerber

1. Angelique Kerber v Venus Williams

The US Open should really kick into gear with day 4's highlight match between Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber.  Kerber has had an terrific year as I have mentioned in a number of my blogs this year! This has included two wins over Venus in Madrid and at the Olympics.  They were both in straight sets although Venus had all hosts of chances in an incredibly tight 7-6 7-6 loss at the Olympics.  Venus seems to have kicked up an extra gear since then and played her best tennis of the year in Cincy where she was striking the ball extremely well.  This should be a great spectacle and finally kick what has been a rather drab Open so far into life.  I will not be surprised whoever wins this match but I am calling Kerber for the win...

Prediction - Kerber to beat Venus in 3 sets

2. Mardy Fish v Nikolay Davydenko

The only mens match that vaguely caught my eye was the match between Mardy Fish and Nikolay Davydenko on Arthur Ashe.  Fish has been very solid since Wimbledon and enjoyed a straight sets win over Go Soeda in the first round.  Davydenko has had an up-and-down kind of season with brief flurries of form.  He struggled in his first round match against the qualifier, Guido Pella.  The pair are at 2-2 in their head-to-head and based on their current form and in front of an American crowd, Fish should have this one in the bag...

Prediction - Fish to beat Davydenko in 3 sets

3. Roberta Vinci v Yaroslava Shvedova

I have picked out another obscure womens second round match but one that promises to be mightily interesting.  Roberta Vinci has looked in excellent form throughout the summer hard court season; she beat Ana Ivanovic and Angelique Kerber in Canada before strolling through the draw in Dallas to win the title.  Her first round demolition of Urszula Radwanska suggests she means business in New York.  Shvedova herself has looked rather handy since a quarter-final run at Roland Garros and she beat good friend Vania King, 6-4 6-2 in the first round.  I think this will be a close match between two in-form players, but I am going for Vinci to maintain her winning run...

Prediction - Vinci to beat Shvedova in 2 tight sets

Serena Williams

Best of the rest: Women

Serena Williams looked in great form in the first round and she continues her assault on the title against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who she famously accused of being a cheat after a match at the French Open.  Agnieszka Radwanska could be tested against Carla Suarez Navarro, meanwhile Ana Ivanovic plays Sofia Arvidsson.

A flurry of seeds went out yesterday and their conquerors will be looking to capitalise on the opportunities presented in the draw.  Sloane Stephens will be the favourite in her second round match with Tatjana Malek, meanwhile the Brit, Johanna Konta who did terrifically well to fight off TEN second set points to beat Timea Babos in the first round, will play Olga Govortsova who ousted the seed, Tamira Paszek.

Predictions:

S. Williams to beat Martinez Sanchez in 2 sets

Radwanska to beat Suarez Navarro in 2 tightish sets

Ivanovic to beat Arvidsson in 2 tight sets

Konta to beat Govortsova in 3 sets

Stephens to beat Malek in 2 sets

Pironkova to beat Morita in 2 tight sets

Best of the rest: Men

The biggest surprise tomorrow is Tomas Berdych stuck out on court 11 for his second round match against Jurgen Zopp... ludicrous! The scheduling of the mens tournament this year has really taken the biscuit.  Roger Federer gets his second night match in a row against Bjorn Phau, meanwhile Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on Martin Klizan.

A number of Americans will be looking for a place in the 3rd round; Sam Querrey will fancy his chances against Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and Jack Sock, who overcame Florian Mayer in the first round will have a great chance of progressing against Flavio Cipolla.  James Blake faces the number 24 seed, Marcel Granollers on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.  Granollers has been very consistent this year, but with an adoring home crowd, Blake definitely has chances in that one...

Predictions:
Federer to beat Phau in 3 sets
Querrey to beat Ramirez Hidalgo in 3 sets
Tsonga to beat Klizan in 3 sets
Berdych to beat Zopp in 3 sets
Granollers to beat Blake in 5 sets
Sock to beat Cipolla in 4 sets

You can view my full US Open predictions for the WTA and ATP draws