US Open Second-Round Clashes Feature Gauff vs. Stephens and Giron vs. Evans

US Open Second-Round Clashes Feature Gauff vs. Stephens and Giron vs. Evans

4 min read

The opening matches at the US Open have not disappointed from dramatic third-set tiebreaks to even more dramatic bathroom breaks. In the women's match of the tournament, so far, Sloane Stephens inched past Madison Keys, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) to open play inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the men's most dramatic battle, Andy Murray pushed Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets, while the Greek pushed Murray's patience with an eight-minute bathroom break going into the final set.

Let’s take a look at some of the matchups for Wednesday using Universal Tennis INSIGHTS: US Open to feature some exciting players including 2017 US Open champion Stephens.

(21) Coco Gauff (UTR Rating 12.81) vs. Sloane Stephens (UTR Rating 12.38)

Stephens' reward for battling past her compatriot and good friend Keys is another showdown with an American favorite. Gauff outlasted Magda Linette on Monday in three sets, and according to INSIGHTS, she's favored to win against the 28-year-old Stephens with a 74% chance of advancing to the third round.

“Coco is a great girl. I call her ‘Cocofina,’ and I have known her since she was eight," Stephens said. "I feel so old because I have actually grown up and seen her play and practice and stuff. The evolution of her game has been really awesome."

The 17-year-old Gauff has the higher Trending UTR Rating, better win-loss record against common opponents, and higher-rated win (Ashleigh Barty), but Stephens won the US Open four years ago (over Keys). Wednesday will mark their first meeting, and will be a full-circle moment.

"I do remember when I was 10 years old, I had a birthday party at a water park, and came to it, which is really cool," Gauff said. "All my friends were excited that Sloane Stephens is at your birthday, professional tennis player. It was really cool. That's probably one of the earliest memories I would say that I remember."

 

 

(11) Diego Schwartzman (UTR Rating 15.44) vs. Kevin Anderson (UTR Rating 15.20)

Although Schwartzman is the seeded player in this second-round clash, 35-year-old Anderson has shown flashes of his peak form this summer, winning the Hall of Fame Open in Newport. The South African is a two-time Grand Slam finalist, including in New York in 2017. Schwartzman has the INSIGHTS edge at 66% but he'll have his hands full with Anderson's serve, made especially more daunting by this marking their first meeting in over three years. Anderson hit 49 aces in his five-set tie-break win over Jiri Vesely on Monday.

 

 

(25) Daria Kasatkina (UTR Rating 12.73) vs. Marketa Vondrousova (UTR Rating 12.74)

According to INSIGHTS, this match is almost too close to call but Kasatkina has a 4% edge with 52% chances of beating the Czech. Vondrousova, a 2019 French Open finalist, just won a silver medal in Tokyo. The margins are tight with 22-year-old Vondrousova having the higher UTR Rating by just 0.01 and the higher Trending UTR Rating by 0.06. These two haven't battled since Rome in 2019, with Vondrousova leading their career head-to-head record 2-1.

 

 

(24) Daniel Evans (UTR Rating 15.22) vs. Marcos Giron (UTR Rating 15.12)

Giron was strong in his first-round win over qualifier Antoine Hoang, and will be seeking his first third-round appearance in New York City. Evans has had a memorable season with his first ATP title in January at the Melbourne 2, and a huge upset of Novak Djokovic in Monte-Carlo. Evans has the INSIGHTS overall advantage over Giron 55% to 45%, complete with a win over the 28-year-old American on his way to the Melbourne title.

 

 

Stay tuned for more from INSIGHTS, and to learn more about Universal Tennis, click here.

•UTR Ratings and INSIGHTS probabilities as of 9 a.m. EST, Aug. 31, 2021.

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