Osaka faces Danilovic test, Stephens meets Gauff

Naomi Osaka continues her U.S. Open title defence with a second round clash against qualifier Olga Danilovic on Wednesday, while former champion Sloane Stephens takes on fellow American Coco Gauff in a highly-anticipated match on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Osaka began her Flushing Meadows title defence with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Czech Marie Bouzkova and the Japanese player will be the overwhelming favourite against her 20-year-old Serbian opponent with the New York crowd behind her.

“It felt kind of surreal to walk onto the court and to hear an actual audience this time,” Osaka said after her opener.

“To see people and to hear their energy, because last year the automated crowd noise was kind of the same all the time. But here, people are reacting in real time, so it was cool.”

But Danilovic, who won her first and only WTA title at the Moscow River Cup as a teenager in 2018, will aim to spring a major surprise after her impressive first-round victory over American wild card Alycia Parks.

Stephens returns to the venue of her 2017 triumph where she faces a tricky test against Gauff, who survived a scare from Magda Linette to claim a 5-7 6-3 6-4 victory in the opening round on Monday.

Having witnessed Gauff’s rise from close quarters, Stephens said she was looking forward to their first meeting on the Tour.

“It’s not very often that you actually see a player from very young and then to be as established as she is now is super inspiring,” former world number three Stephens said of her 17-year-old compatriot.

“She’s a great player, great girl. I think her future is super bright. I look forward to seeing what she does next.”

In other second-round matches, two-times Grand Slam champion Simona Halep faces Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova while Garbine Muguruza takes on unseeded German Andrea Petkovic.

On the men’s side, Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev meets Germany’s Dominik Koepfer as he continues his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title, while fellow contender Stefanos Tsitsipas plays Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Order of play on the main show courts on the third day of the U.S. Open on Wednesday (play starts at 1500 GMT/11 AM ET unless stated, prefix number denotes seeding):

ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM (1600 GMT/12 PM ET)

Olga Danilovic (Serbia) v 3-Naomi Osaka (Japan)

Dominik Koepfer (Germany) v 2-Daniil Medvedev (Russia)

Sloane Stephens (U.S.) v 21-Cori Gauff (U.S)

Adrian Mannarino (France) v 3-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM

Andrea Petkovic (Germany) v 9-Garbine Muguruza (Spain)

18-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) v Jasmine Paolini (Italy)

Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) v Guido Pella (Argentina)

Kevin Anderson (South Africa) v 11-Diego Schwartzman (Argentina)

16-Angelique Kerber (Germany) v Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine)