Federer braced for Kyrgios test on sixth day of U.S. Open
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[September 01, 2018]
By Simon Jennings
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nick Kyrgios has
his toughest assignment to date at this year's U.S. Open when he
faces second seed Roger Federer in a third round encounter at Arthur
Ashe Stadium on Saturday, while Maria Sharapova takes on Jelena
Ostapenko in a clash of big hitters.
Five-times champion Federer eased through the opening rounds with
typical Swiss precision, winning both matches in straight sets,
while the hot-blooded Kyrgios was gently chided by the chair umpire
to try harder before coming through his last match.
The Australian has two four-setters under his belt and more than
enough talent to give the evergreen 37-year-old Federer a fight --
if he can contain his volatile temperament and get the most out of
his potent serve.
Kyrgios, who has clocked one of the fastest serves at Flushing
Meadows this year, won his first-ever match against Federer in 2015,
but has lost three in a row since, including one walkover.
Similar to Federer, Sharapova has yet to drop a set, but that could
easily change against the 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, who
can match the Russian's raw power from the baseline but is also
prone to fits of inconsistency.
They face each other in the first match of the evening session on
Arthur Ashe and current form suggests a contest mixing a lot of
clean winners against plenty of unforced errors.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland serves against Benoit Paire of France
in a second round match on day four of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis
tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Two-times champion Novak Djokovic is last up on Arthur Ashe against
French 26th seed Richard Gasquet, while over at the Louis Armstrong
Stadium both the men and women's fourth seeds will attempt to reach
the last 16.
First up, Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber of Germany meets
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova for the 13th time in their career,
having managed to edge ahead in their head-to-head with victories in
both meetings this year.
Alexander Zverev, who has been quietly impressive under the tutelage
of Ivan Lendl, takes on fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the
last match of the day session.
Elsewhere, women's fifth seed Petra Kvitova and men's seventh seed
Marin Cilic are also in action in the evening.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings; Editing by John O'Brien)
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