Unfortunately today’s live blog must end here. Damn rain, spoiling our tennis fun. Day two was a washout, although at least we had entertainment under the roof on Arthur Ashe. The highlight, for me, was Naomi Osaka increasing Angelique Kerber’s misery. Rafa Nadal also made it safely through and so did Karolina Pliskova. Plenty of matches still have to be sorted out tomorrow, but there’s still the night session to come on day two and Bryan Armen Graham will be around in a few hours with live coverage of Roger Federer against Frances Tiafoe. Cheerio!
Jelena Ostapenko beats Lara Arruabarrena 6-2, 1-6, 6-1!
A typically weird Ostapenko score, but the 12th seed is through to the second round. Moved to Arthur Ashe after a long rain delay, she showed how much she likes the big stage by winning three straight games to win the match. She earns two match points. She blooters an ace down the middle. Arruabarrena calls for HawkEye. There is no reprieve. Ostapenko will play Romania’s Sorana Cirstea next.
The match resumes with Jelena Ostapenko serving at 3-1 in the third set. She looks dialled in. A huge backhand makes it 40-0 and the Latvian holds to 15 to lead 4-1.
The players are out on Arthur Ashe. Quite a few fans have left. But we do have bonus tennis. Take that, rain!
All of which means that, despite the rain, Jelena Ostapenko and Lara Arruabarrena will be allowed to finish their match under the roof. It started on Court 17, but it will move to Arthur Ashe. Ostapenko, the French Open champion, leads 6-2, 1-6, 3-1 and is about to serve.
Rafa Nadal speaks! “I was just trying to be there. It was tough at the beginning, he was playing well and not making many mistakes. At the end of that first set it was important. And then I played the tie-break well. I’m very happy. I need to keep improving. Always the first round is never easy. Playing indoors. Always at the beginning you want to do it well. There is a lot of noise out here when the roof is closed. Big change. At the beginning it is a little strange, but it is a good call.”
Rafa Nadal beats Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-2!
Serving for the match, Nadal takes a 15-0 lead with another forehand winner. Then a fan decides to leave his feet, which is enough to disturb Nadal into double-faulting. Soon he has two match points, though, and another outstanding serve polishes off an initially tough but ultimately excellent win for the world No1, who marches into the second round.
Third set: Nadal 7-6, 6-2, 5-2 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic holds. Get on with it, Rafa! Tick tock!
Third set: Nadal* 7-6, 6-2, 5-1 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal holds to 15. He’s got 15 minutes to make sure we get more tennis before the night session.
Third set: Nadal 7-6, 6-2, 4-1 Lajovic* (*denotes server): If this match finishes before 10.15pm BST/5.15pm local time then they’ll put Ostapenko and Arrubarrena on Arthur Ashe before the night session. Ostapenko leads 3-1 in the third set. Hurry up, Rafa! Actually he might do it. Nadal slams a forehand down the line on break point and Lajovic, hustling desperately, swipes wide on the run.
Third set: Nadal* 7-6, 6-2, 3-1 Lajovic (*denotes server): Lajovic earns two break points, but Nadal saves both. He earns a third and Nadal smashes for deuce. Eventually, after brief drama, Nadal holds.
Third set: Nadal 7-6, 6-2, 2-1 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic holds to 15. Later on, by the way, Bryan Armen Graham will have live coverage of Roger Federer v Frances Tiafoe, the second match in the evening session.
Third set: Nadal* 7-6, 6-2, 2-0 Lajovic (*denotes server): Serving powerfully, Nadal holds to 30. This has turned into a straightforward workout. It did feel like it was going to hinge on whether he could break back in the first set. Once he managed that, you kind of knew.
Third set: Nadal 7-6, 6-2, 1-0 Lajovic* (*denotes server): “Game Nadal”. Didn’t take long. Lajovic nets a forehand, Nadal breaks.
Rafa Nadal wins the second set to lead 7-6, 6-2!
Lajovic is flailing. Nadal quickly earns three set points. He can’t take the first, pulling a forehand wide, then he nets a forehand. You might think he’s about to choke. You’d be mistaken. An ace snuffs out any thought of an unlikely collapse.
Second set: Nadal 7-6, 5-2 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic begins with a double-fault, but knuckles down to hold to 30 and at least keep Nadal honest.
Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 5-1 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal holds easily. He’s a game from a two-set lead and the fight’s draining from Lajovic.
Second set: Nadal 7-6, 4-1 Lajovic* (*denotes server): And Nadal promptly re-establishes the two-break lead. Hard to see how Lajovic extricates himself from this one. He had to win that first set. But he didn’t. And here we are.
Second set: Nadal* 7-6, 3-1 Lajovic (*denotes server): Hang on. Maybe it’s not over yet. A careless game from Nadal gifts Lajovic two break points; he sends a forehand wide and the Serbian cancels out one break.
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Second set: Nadal 7-6, 3-0 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic balloons a backhand, Nadal breaks again. Barring a Fognini repeat, this match is done.
Second set: Nadal 7-6, 2-0 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Nadal consolidates the break, holding to 15, and Carlos Moya watches on with a satisfied look on his face.
Second set: Nadal 7-6, 1-0 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic knocks a forehand long on break point. You have to fear for Dusan now.
Rafa Nadal wins the first set 7-6!
First set tie-break: Nadal 8-6 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic cracks! He sends a backhand slice long and the first set belongs to the world No1, who was forced to work hard for it!
First set tie-break: Nadal* 7-6 Lajovic (*denotes server): A massive inside-out forehand from Nadal earns him a second set point.
First set tie-break: Nadal* 6-6 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal misses a first serve. Then he nets the second! There are gasps and squeals. Oh my! Did you see that? I can’t believe it! I know!
First set tie-break: Nadal 6-5 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic, off balance, volleys long after a poor approach! Nadal has a set point.
First set tie-break: Nadal 5-5 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic softens Nadal up with a huge forehand to the left and wins the point with a smash to the right.
First set tie-break: Nadal* 5-4 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal knocks a backhand long. Sloppy.
First set tie-break: Nadal* 5-3 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal goes for the quick kill with a forehand after a short return from Lajovic.
First set tie-break: Nadal 4-3 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Another fine winner from Lajovic.
First set tie-break: Nadal 4-2 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Nadal sticks a forehand wide.
First set tie-break: Nadal* 4-1 Lajovic (*denotes server): Lajovic nets a backhand after a superb defensive slice from Nadal.
First set tie-break: Nadal* 3-1 Lajovic (*denotes server): Lajovic repairs some of the damage with a beautiful backhand winner.
First set tie-break: Nadal 3-0 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic nets a forehand. Oh dear.
First set tie-break: Nadal 2-0 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic pulls a forehand wide.
First set tie-break: Nadal* 1-0 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal begins with an ace.
First set: Nadal 6-6 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Having served for it, now Lajovic serves to stay in it. He looks like doing so with ease, racing into a 40-0 lead. Nadal rips to deuce, though, and it feels ominous. Lajovic does very well to settle and hold. Meanwhile play has been cancelled on the outside courts - other than Ostapenko v Arrubarrena, the conclusion of which might take place on Arthur Ashe if there’s enough time before the evening session. That depends on this match.
First set: Nadal* 6-5 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal holds to 15. Oh yeah, he’s the world No1.
First set: Nadal 5-5 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Serving for the set, it’s not long before Lajovic trails 0-15. He nets to make it 0-30. You sense: here comes trouble. Nadal starts to repel everything. And a deep forehand forces a wild backhand from Lajovic, who’s facing three break points. Nadal needs one. A fine return draws another error from Lajovic, whose ears will be ringing when he hears Nadal’s urgent “Come on!”.
First set: Nadal* 4-5 Lajovic (*denotes server): Nadal is serving to stay in the set. Lajovic is inspired at the moment. He sprays a backhand down the line for 30-all. On Eurosport, Mats Wilander makes the point that Nadal isn’t a top indoor player and he seems to be finding it hard to adjust to the conditions. He does find a big serve to make it 40-30, but an errant backhand makes it deuce. After a tussle, Nadal holds. Lajovic will serve for the set.
First set: Nadal 3-5 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic is bouncing up and down in Nadal-esque fashion after holding to 30. He’s a game away from the first set!
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First set: Nadal* 3-4 Lajovic (*denotes server): It’s at this point that one remembers that Nadal has been a third and fourth-round loser here in the past two years. The 2010 and 2013 champion hasn’t always had it his own way in New York and hasn’t been in the best form. So these are interesting times. The general assumption, though, is that Lajovic won’t maintain this level and that Nadal will improve, and then normal service will be resumed. Nadal holds to 30 here, a lovely forehand doing the job, and keeps it to one break.
First set: Nadal 2-4 Lajovic* (*denotes server): Lajovic holds to 30.
First set: *Nadal 2-3 Lajovic (*denotes server). Rafa nets the ball for 0-15 and Lajovic has won eight of the last 10 points. He picks up his serve to get to 40-30 but then misses an easy forehand long with the court wide open to take it to deuce. Lajovic’s second lucky net cord of the game then brings up the break point but Rafa holds on - he’s looked flat so far though.
First set: Nadal 1-3 Lajovic* (*denotes server). A comfortable hold for Lajovic. The good news for Rafa is that he wins a challenge early in the game - the bad news is that that’s the highlight for the Spaniard.
First set: *Nadal 1-2 Lajovic (*denotes server). Lajovic gets out to a 0-30 lead and then a high bounce leads Nadal to shanking his backhand wide and suddenly we have three break points up for grabs - what a chance early on against the No1 seed. Nadal saves the first two before a limp forehand gives the game, and break, to Lajovic. Neither player played well in that game: Nadal just played worse.
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First set: Nadal 1-1 Lajovic. The world No85 gets off to a comfortable start against the former champion, holding with an ace. The winner of this match faces Tano Daniel or Tommy Paul in the second round.
Rafa is all we have this afternoon due to the rain, and he’s looking pretty comfortable under the roof of Arthur Ashe: he serves in the match’s first game and wins comfortably enough: Nadal 1-0 Lajovic.
The rain is set to fall through the afternoon and into the early hours of tomorrow as August ends on a cool note in New York. That means any play will be under the roof of Arthur Ashe - nominated as the worst sports arena in the US by our very own Bryan Graham yesterday (we’re happy to note he was still let into the arena last night):
Wearing bright pink, Rafa Nadal has arrived on Arthur Ashe. He’ll arrange his water bottles, jump up and down on the spot for a bit and then play some tennis. While he gets on with some preparations, I’m going to have some food. See you in a bit.
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With the rain still falling in New York, we have no tennis. The outside courts are drenched. There is, however, one more match on Arthur Ashe in the afternoon session. And it’s not a bad one: you’ve heard of Rafael Nadal, right? The world No1 faces Dusan Lajovic, an awkward Serbian who briefly inconvenienced Roger Federer at Wimbledon but who probably doesn’t stand much of a chance in this one.
As for Kerber, you have to wonder if she might take a break now. This is her second first-round exit in a grand slam this year and she’ll lose a lot of ranking points after this defeat. Has she bottomed out or is worse to come? She hasn’t responded well at all to being world No1 and there is an argument that this result only counts as half a shock. Kerber had no answer to Osaka’s fearsome hitting. Her serve was shocking and her movement wasn’t what it was in 2016. She needs a rethink.
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Other than the quality of her tennis, Naomi Osaka impressed by making sure not to be consumed by the moment. Even taking into account how much Kerber has struggled this year, the German is a two-times grand slam champion and a former world No1, so Osaka had to make sure she kept her cool once she had the lead. She did that. She swung freely and never looked like imploding.
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Naomi Osaka beats Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1!
The champion is out! Facing a match point, Angelique Kerber slams a forehand into the net, a poor shot in keeping with a wretched year that’s just plumbed new depths. But this was a special performance from young Naomi Osaka. The 19-year-old has just offered a stunning exhibition of her glittering potential and has secured her first win over a top-10 player with an awesome display of power tennis. The Arthur Ashe crowd liked what they saw and Osaka had the time of her life out there. She’s beaming. Unlike Kerber, who had a glum expression on her face as she stomped off.
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This could be the match. Another missile from Osaka earns her the double break; the Japanese prodigy leads 6-3, 4-1 and will do well to throw this away. Kerber looks forlorn. She’s being beaten up.
Osaka leads 6-3, 3-1. She looks such an exciting talent. Kerber is scrambling and scrappy desperately in an attempt to stay in this, but she is on the ropes.
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Any hopes that Kerber would rally - geddit, it’s a funny tennis pun - at the start of the second set look misguided. The German’s serve remains vulnerable and Naomi Osaka, with the bit between her teeth, breaks in the first game. The defending champion’s all over the place. 6-3, 1-0 to Osaka.
Serving for the first set, Naomi Osaka finds herself down 15-40. Her response is to save both break points with magnificent tennis, the second with a superb forehand pass down the line for deuce. Then she earns her first set point, ripping through her forehand to puncture Kerber’s defence, and takes it when the German nets a forehand return. The 19-year-old takes the first set 6-3!
Angelique Kerber continues to chuck in double-faults and eventually it was going to hurt her. So it proves. Osaka earns a break point and takes it to lead 5-3. She’ll serve for the first set.
Kerber’s second serve is threatening to fall apart. She’s made three double-faults already.
Naomi Osaka can hit a ball and Angelique Kerber can soak up venom, which is making for an engrossing clash of styles. Osaka is starting to go for a bit too much and she’s losing some accuracy and control. A couple of errors hand Kerber a break point; Osaka saves it with some enormous tennis, though, finding her range again for deuce, driving a volley through the air. More outstanding play from the Osaka allows her to hold for 3-2. The crowd enjoyed that.
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A tight double-fault from an irascible Angelique Kerber makes it 15-30. She doesn’t appear to be in the best of moods. But she does hold to 30, making it 2-2 in the first set. No sign of a break yet.
And ... play! Naomi Osaka opens the serving. The stands are beginning to fill up now, the fans arriving in anticipation of a potentially exciting encounter. Can Osaka stun the sixth seed? She has the weapons.
The umbrellas are still up, but the players are out on Arthur Ashe. Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka are knocking up and this could be good. How will Osaka handle the big stage? If she conquers her nerves, she could cause an upset in this one.
But at least there’s a roof on Arthur Ashe. Soon we’ll have one of the most intriguing matches of the day, the struggling former world No1 Angelique Kerber against one of the game’s brightest youngsters, Japan’s Naomi Osaka. Kerber is the defending champion, but she’s had a pretty wretched year and it won’t be a surprise if she’s pushed or even beaten by the 19-year-old, who reached the third round last year.
Play suspended on the outside courts
It’s raining. Which isn’t ideal for Elina Svitolina and Katerina Siniokva, who were on serve in a second-set tie-break. Svitolina served for the match on Louis Armstrong, but the smallest of dips allowed the fourth seed’s Czech opponent to cling on and introduce some doubt.
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Rain’s starting to fall more heavily now. Dominic Thiem and Alex De Minaur have wandered off court now. Thiem is the happier of the two. The sixth seed leads 6-4, 6-1, 1-0.
Karolina Pliskova is through to round two. A towering performance from the world No1 is far too much for Magda Linette, who is powerless in the face of Pliskova’s big hitting and huge serving. The Czech wins 6-2, 6-1, completes a very tedious courtside interview and speeds off to sign some balls and whack them into the crowd.
Speaking of consistency ... Richard Gasquet won’t be going through in straight sets today. Leonardo Mayer has levelled their match, winning the second set 6-2. A few women’s matches are beginning to be wrapped up, though, as Yanina Wickmayer slays a seed - the Belgian beats 28th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko for the loss of only four games.
Consistency is an issue for Donald Young. He won the first set 6-3 against Max Marterer and lost the second 6-1. Now he’s a break up in the third. What a thrill ride for the American fans on Court 12!
A seed’s in trouble on Court 11. Kristina Mladenovic has lost the first set to Monica Niculescu 6-3. No problems for Barbora Strycova, though: the 23rd seed has beaten Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-3 on Court 5.
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Elina Svitolina served for the match ... the match is not over. Katerina Siniakova breaks back for 5-5 in the second. Rather careless from Svitolina, who should be heading back to the locker room already.
Jelena Ostapenko has a fight on her hands now. The Latvian was dominant in set one, but less so in set two. It’s gone to a decider after Lara Arruabarrena held her nerve and serve to close it out 6-1. Elsewhere Sorana Cirstea has beaten Lesley Kerkhove of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-3. Impressive from the Romanian.
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Karolina Pliskova holds with her fourth ace of the second set and leads 6-2, 3-0. On Louis Armstrong, Elina Svitolina is about to serve for the match at 6-0, 5-4 against Katerina Siniakova.
This is looking like a quick workout for Karolina Pliskova. An early break in the second set and she’s got a firm grip on this match now. Magda Linette requires a miracle.
On Eurosport commentary, Marion Bartoli is regaling us with an unlikely tale from her travels around the venue: get this, Maria Sharapova said “hello” to her the other day. Bartoli checked to make sure the Russian wasn’t saying it to someone else, but no, it really was meant for her. “Maybe she has changed,” the former Wimbledon champion says.
Things are going rather well for the Americans at the moment. Bjorn Fratalengo has dominated a first-set tie-break against ... wait for it ... Ivo Karlovic. The 24-year-old only dropped two points against the towering Croatian. No mean feat. Elsewhere Jennifer Brady leads by a set and a break against Germany’s Andrea Petkovic on Court 6.
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The roof is shut already. What an amazing species we are. The second set on Arthur Ashe will begin imminently.
The roof on Arthur Ashe is closing. Hooray!
There are a few drops of rain in the air. Bah!
Magda Linette saves two set points, scrambling well, but not a third. Karolina Pliskova, the world No1, is flattered a tad by a 6-2 scoreline, but will she care? Unlikely.
Let's see that again 👀 - set point from @KaPliskova. #USOpen @MBUSA pic.twitter.com/VPwEA4AnvC
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2017
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Dominic Thiem has nice hair. In other news he’s got the first set against Alex De Minaur, taking it 6-4 off the Aussie whippersnapper.
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We’ve seen three bagel sets already. Mmm, bagels. First Elina Svitolina; now Nicole Gibbs, who’s outplaying Veronica Cepede Royg, and now Francesca Schiavone, the Italian veteran, who’s giving Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi a bit of a lesson. T
With Murray, Djokovic, Wawrinka, Raonic and Nishikori all out, is this ... no, I can’t ask you if this is Richard Gasquet’s year. What would be the point? What a story that would be, though. The former prodigy has had a perfectly acceptable career and can’t exactly be accused of throwing away his talent. But he hasn’t lived up to his early promise. He was expected to win a fair few slams when he was a youngster. It hasn’t turned out that way. Still, he’s here and he’s a former semi-finalist. The 26th seed is up a set against Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer, winning the opener 6-3.
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And there goes that first set on Court 12, 6-3 to Donald Young, who’s having a quietly impressive year. On Court 17, meanwhile, the French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko has powered - she knows no other way - to a 6-2, 1-0 lead over Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena.
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Karolina Pliskova found out that Veronica Cepede Royg can be very tricky opponent when they met in Paris earlier this year. Not so today, though. The Paraguayan trails 0-4 in the first set against the USA’s Nicole Gibbs. Elsewhere another American, Donald Young, is faring well. He’s up 5-2 in the first set against Germany’s Max Marterer.
Anyone who reckons Elina Svitolina’s going to win this thing will be feeling pretty smug at the moment. She’s just taken the first set 6-0 against Katerina Siniakova.
Plenty of chatter that it’s going to be a rainy day in New York. The roof remains off on Arthur Ashe at the moment, but it might be called into action soon. You’ve got to love sports like tennis. Even if you have nothing to say, you can talk about the weather and people have to listen to you because it’s relevant.
Or maybe you can afford to do that against a server as good as Karolina Pliskova. Magda Linette breaks straight back.
Feeling the nerves, even though Arthur Ashe is pretty damn empty, Magda Linette double-faults on a break point. You don’t want to be doing that against a server as good as Karolina Pliskova, who’s off to an early lead. As for Elina Svitolina, she’s showing why she’s the fourth seed, racing into a 4-0 lead against Katerina Siniakova.
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A stomping start from Dominic Thiem, the sixth seed, who’s nabbed an early break against Alex De Minaur, an Australian teenager. What do we make of Thiem? Outstanding on clay, he’s still got much room for improvement on other surfaces.
Eight women started this tournament with a shot of becoming the new world No1. Johanna Konta was one of those contenders – alas, the British No1 fell apart in her first-round match last night and is no longer part of the Flushing Meadows picture. Now we’ll get a look at the current No1, though. Karolina Pliskova, who replaced Angelique Kerber at the top of the rankings in spite of a second-round defeat at Wimbledon, is out on Arthur Ashe Stadium with Poland’s Magda Linette.
Players are emerging on courts. Tok! Tok! Tokity tok! They’re warming up here, they’re warming up there ... and now I’ve got Larry David in my head. On Louis Armstrong Stadium, Elina Svitolina is about to meet Katerina Siniakova, an unseeded Czech 21-year-old. The fourth seed has a fine chance of winning her first grand slam here. She’s been in terrific form this year and took the title in Toronto earlier this month, though she still has a bit to prove at slam level.
Preamble
Hello. The US Open organisers currently have the hopelessly doomed air of Homer Simpson chasing after a juicy airborne BBQ pig: it’s still good, it’s still good! Is it, though? Plenty of people think otherwise. Welcome to the void. Welcome to the future. No Djokovic. No Murray. No Wawrinka. No Serena. No Federer v Nadal final. NO MORE POINT TO TENNIS. END THE SPORT NOW.
But come on, sport isn’t all about the names, is it? Sure, this grand slam tournament might feel a little unsatisfactory to some; on the men’s side, all of last year’s year-end top five are out injured, victims of the sport’s never-ending physical grind. But you can’t please everyone: after all, if we were treated to a Big Four sweep in the semi-finals, there would be complaints about same old, same old.
Now there is uncertainty - sport can feed off that. Intrigue abounds. Can someone rise to the challenge of filling those big holes? Today we’ll get an idea of whether Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov might have what it takes, while there really is no clear favourite on the women’s side. Everyone likes a grumble, but this fortnight might be more enjoyable if we find the positives in these strange times.
Play begins at: 4pm BST and 11am NYC.
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