U.S. Open 2018 Days 8-9 (Aug. 28-29) Preview: Matches, Start Times, Channel, Players To Watch

The U.S. Open is entering its second week, with the lat set of first-round matches scheduled for Tuesday.

U.S. Open Day 8 Preview

Rafael Nadal, who won this year’s French Open, is the defending champion. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic took the other two Grand Slam tournaments this year: the Australian Open (in January) and Wimbledon, respectively.

This year’s U.S. Open will mark the final Grand Slam to count 32 seeds. Starting in 2019, the tournament will have just 16 seeds. Top-seeded Nadal and second-seeded Federer, who is now 37, are both considered favorites to win at Arthur Ashe this year. Djokovic is the sixth seed.

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Nadal and Djokovic are also coming off recent title victories at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Cincinnati Masters, respectively. Djokovic defeated Federer in straight sets in the final at Cincinnati. Among the other players who could advance to the late stages in this year’s U.S. Open are Andy Murray and 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka.  

Federer will next play 22-year-old Japanese competitor Yoshihito Nishioka on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST, while Nadal will face Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the second round on Wednesday. Djokovic will play Hungarian Márton Fucsovics on Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. EST, while Murray will play No. 31-seed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday. Wawrinka will also play on Wednesday against 20-year-old Frenchman Ugo Humbert. 

On the women’s side, American youngster Sloane Stephens is the defending champion. This year, she is the third seed and will next face Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the second round on Wednesday after beating Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 7-5 on Monday. No. 17-seed Serena Williams crushed Polish 26-year-old Magda Linette 6-4, 6-0 on Monday and will next face 23-year-old German Carina Witthöft on Wednesday.

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The women’s top seed this year, Romanian 26-year-old Simona Halep, crashed out of the U.S. Open on Monday after losing 2-6, 4-6 to unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi. 

All main-court games will air on ESPN and ESPN2, although some matches will air on ESPN+, the network’s new subscription-based streaming service.

Here is the full schedule for the tournament, which ends Sept. 9:

Date Round Start End Channel

Mon, Aug. 27 First Noon 11 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2

Tue, Aug. 28 First Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Wed, Aug. 29 Second Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Thu, Aug. 30 Second Noon 11 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2

Fri, Aug. 31 Third Noon 11 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2

Sat, Sep. 1 Third Noon 11 p.m. ESPN2

Sun, Sep. 2 Round of 16 Noon 11 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2

Mon, Sep. 3 Round of 16 Noon 11 p.m. ESPN2

Tue, Sep. 4 Quarterfinals Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Wed, Sep. 5 Quarterfinals Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Thu, Sep. 6 Women’s Semifinals Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Fri, Sep, 7 Men’s Semifinals Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Sat, Sep. 8 Women’s Final Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Sun, Sep. 9 Men’s Final Noon 11 p.m. ESPN

Source: sbnation.com.