DAY FOUR HIGHLIGHTS
• Second round action in the top half of the draw on Thursday features five-time US Open champion Roger Federer, two-time champion Rafael Nadal and 2009 titleholder Juan Martin del Potro. All but Federer and Nadal are back in action for the second straight day. Also on the schedule are No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem and No. 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov, both who reached semi-finals earlier this season at Roland Garros and the Australian Open, respectively.
• Federer, who defeated #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe in five sets on Tuesday night in his opener, brings a 16-0 head-to-head record against Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Federer is also 16-0 in 2R US Open matches. He is looking for his 80th US Open win and take sole possession of 2nd place (tied with Agassi) on the tournament wins list. Jimmy Connors is the record holder with 98. Youzhny reached the US Open semi-finals in 2006 and 2010 and he is attempting to earn his first Top 10 win in Grand Slam play since 2012 Wimbledon (d. No. 8 Tipsarevic in 3R).
• Nadal headlines the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium against Taro Daniel of Japan in a first-time meeting. Nadal picked up his ATP World Tour-best 50th match win of the season on Tuesday and he is 10-2 in 2R matches at the US Open, winning his last 10. The No. 121st-ranked Daniel is 0-3 lifetime against Top 10 opponents and he’s trying to reach the 3R in a Grand Slam for the first time. He beat Tommy Paul in five sets on Wednesday.
• On Louis Armstrong Stadium, Dimitrov takes on #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev and Thiem plays #NextGenATP American wild card Taylor Fritz. Both are first-time meetings. Both teenagers are trying to reach their first Grand Slam 3R appearance. Rublev is 0-3 against Top 10 opponents while Fritz is 1-4. Dimitrov, who won his biggest career title at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (d. Kyrgios), has won 13 consecutive sets. Thiem is trying to reach the 3R at the US Open for the fourth straight year.
• On Grandstand, 31-year-old Spanish qualifier Adrian Menendez-Maceiras meets del Potro for the first time. Menendez-Maceiras qualified for the US Open for the first time in 10 attempts. The 28-year-old Argentine is 6-1 in 2R matches at the US Open. In the next match on, Donald Young, one of three Americans in action on Thursday, squares off with No. 18 seed and last year’s semi-finalist Gael Monfils for the third time (tied 1-1). Young has already equaled his career-high season wins total (22) in 2015.
• Wild card Bjorn Fratangelo, who overcame 46 aces by Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday, defeating the Croat in four sets, takes on No. 30 seed Adrian Mannarino for the second time this month. The Frenchman won their last meeting 61 61 in the 2R of Los Cabos on Aug. 2. Mannarino has reached the 3R in Flushing Meadows twice (2013-14) while the 24-year-old Pittsburgh native is trying to reach the 3R of a Grand Slam for the first time.