Tennis
The Williams sisters are two-time doubles champions at the US Open and will pair up for the first time since the 2018 French Open; the duo headline the evening session on the Arthur Ashe Stadium against Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova; Dan Evans and Cam Norrie in action earlier in the day
Thursday 1 September 2022 16:01, UK
Venus and Serena Williams will headline Thursday’s evening schedule inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium as they join forces in the US Open doubles draw.
It marks the first time a first-round doubles match has featured at the marquee venue of the year’s final major and the pair will play Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in prime time.
Older sister Venus should arrive rested after exiting the singles draw on Tuesday, but Serena may be wearier after after beating second seed Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday night.
The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a team, including two at Flushing Meadows. Their last competition together was at the French Open four years ago.
The afternoon session in the Arthur Ashe Stadium will commence with world No 1 Iga Swiatek taking on Sloane Stephens before the men’s third seed Carlos Alcaraz meets Federico Coria.
Rafael Nadal’s second-round encounter with the world No 60 Fabio Fognini will follow the Williams sisters on court inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium during the night session.
Dan Evans will be first on Court 12 at 11am local time (4pm BST) against world No 83 James Duckworth. He’ll be followed on court by fellow Brit Cam Norrie, who is taking on Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
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Evans swept aside Jiri Vesely 6-4 6-1 6-1 in the first round. He reached the fourth round last year and arrived at Flushing Meadows buoyed by a run to the semi-finals of the ATP Tour event in Montreal earlier this month.
The British player wrapped up his first-round win in an hour and 55 minutes and looks in excellent physical shape, dealing with the brutally hot conditions well.
Norrie faced Benoit Paire in his opener in New York and lost just 17 points during the first and third sets of a 6-0 7-6 (7-1) 6-0 victory.
The British No 1 is playing as a top-eight seed at a Grand Slam for the first time and is firmly in the conversation as a contender for the title, particularly after his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The schedule on the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Thursday will feature American Danielle Collins taking on Cristina Bucsa before further doubles action.
Close friends Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios will face France’s Hugo Gaston and Italian Lorenzo Musetti in doubles after.
Kyrgios, who beat his “Special K” counterpart in round one of the singles draw, will be hoping he and Kokkinakis can collect another Grand Slam crown after winning the Australian Open title this year.
John Isner will take no further part in the US Open though after a wrist injury. The 37-year-old won his first-round match in straight sets Tuesday but his withdrawal was announced on Wednesday night.
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