MATCH POINTS
A popcorn third round sees 22-year-old No.4 seed Naomi Osaka take on 20-year-old No.16 seed Dayana Yastremska, the youngest player remaining in the draw, for the first time in a clash of power hitters. Since the start of 2018, Osaka has a 10-2 record against players younger than her, with the only losses coming to Sofia Kenin in Cincinnati last year and Coco Gauff at the Australian Open in January.
2013 Cincinnati champion Victoria Azarenka had never beaten either of her first two opponents this week, overcoming a 0-2 head-to-head against Donna Vekic in the first round and 0-3 against Caroline Garcia in the second. Now, the former World No.1 faces a player she has never lost to: Azarenka is 6-0 against Alizé Cornet. Their first meeting was in the first round of Beijing 2012, which Azarenka won 6-1, 6-0, and their most recent in the first round of Wimbledon 2019, which she won 6-4, 6-4. So far, Cornet has taken Azarenka to a deciding set three times, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the third round of Roland Garros 2013; 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the 2013 US Open; and 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round of Montréal 2014.
Head to Head
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2014-15 Cincinnati champion Serena Williams will face No.13 seed Maria Sakkari for the first time in an official Tour match, although the pair did square off in the 2019 Hopman Cup: Williams won their singles rubber 7-6(3), 6-2, but Greece won the tie 2-1 after Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas took the deciding doubles 4-1, 1-4, 4-2 over Williams and Frances Tiafoe. Sakkari is aiming for her second Top 10 win of the year, having defeated Belinda Bencic in the St. Petersburg quarterfinals in February, and ninth overall.
Qualifier Vera Zvonareva is the third former Cincinnati champion remaining in the draw, having lifted the trophy in 2006 in its days as a Tier III tournament. This week marks the first time the Russian has reached the last 16 of a Premier 5 event or above since Beijing 2011. Zvonareva faces No.8 seed Johanna Konta for the first time, and is bidding for her fourth Top 20 win since returning from maternity leave in 2017, having defeated Karolina Pliskova at Moscow 2018 and Julia Goerges and Daria Kasatkina at St. Petersburg 2019.
No.14 seed Elise Mertens has not played Veronika Kudermetova since the pair's ITF days in 2016, when Mertens won 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Moscow $25K event. That match is their only previous pro meeting, but the Belgian also won both of their junior encounters in 2012.
Qualifier Christina McHale has reached the last 16 of a Premier 5 event for the first time since Dubai 2017, and will bid to reprise the result of her sole prior meeting with Ons Jabeur - a 6-4, 7-6(3) win in Doha 2017 qualifying.
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) August 24, 2020
ORDER OF PLAY (all courts start 11am)
GRANDSTAND
After 1 ATP match
[8] Johanna KONTA (GBR) vs [Q] Vera ZVONAREVA (RUS)
After 2 ATP matches, not before 7pm
[13] Maria SAKKARI (GRE) vs [3] Serena WILLIAMS (USA)
COURT 17
[12] Anett KONTAVEIT (EST) vs Marie BOUZKOVA (CZE)
After 1 ATP match, not before 3pm
[4/WC] Naomi OSAKA (JPN) vs [16] Dayana YASTREMSKA (UKR)
Ons JABEUR (TUN) vs [Q] Christina MCHALE (USA)
COURT 10
After 1 ATP match, not before 1.30pm
[Q] Jessica PEGULA (USA) vs [5] Aryna SABALENKA (BLR)
COURT 7
Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) vs [14] Elise MERTENS (BEL)
Not before 2.30pm
Victoria AZARENKA (BLR) vs Alizé CORNET (FRA)
Not before 3pm
[5] Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) / Ena SHIBAHARA (JPN) vs [WC] Jessica PEGULA (USA) / Shelby ROGERS (USA)
Not before 4pm
[6] Victoria AZARENKA (BLR) / Sofia KENIN (USA) vs Anna BLINKOVA (RUS) / Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS)
COURT 12
Coco GAUFF (USA) / Catherine MCNALLY (USA) vs [2] Nicole MELICHAR (USA) / XU Yifan (CHN)
Hayley CARTER (USA) / Luisa STEFANI (BRA) vs Ellen PEREZ (AUS) / Storm SANDERS (AUS)
Not before 3pm
[1] Elise MERTENS (BEL) / Aryna SABALENKA (BLR) vs Alexa GUARACHI (CHI) / Desirae KRAWCZYK (USA)
[3] Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) / Demi SCHUURS (NED) vs Ekaterina ALEXANDROVA (RUS) / Vera ZVONAREVA (RUS)
