Three to See, US Open Day 4: Swiatek-Stephens Act II; Coric-Brooksby clash; Nadal-Fognini reunite on Ashe

Iga Swiatek vs. Sloane Stephens

One match doesn’t right a ship, but Swiatek’s 6-3, 6-0 first-round win over Jasmine Paolini was still a heartening effort for the world No. 1, who has been falling rapidly back to earth for the last month or so. Now she should face a tougher challenge, and one who showed a lot of grit to get here. Down 1-6, 0-2 to Greet Minnen in the first round, and looking she was about to wilt in the heat, Stephens dug in instead, regrouped, and lost just four more games.

Does she have that effort in her again? More importantly, will grit alone be enough against Swiatek? These two met for the first time earlier this month in Cincinnati, and Swiatek won a tightly-contested two-setter, 6-4, 7-5. Sloane plays the type of defense that could give the go-for-broke Swiatek fits on an off day. The American will also have the crowd to help her move a step or two faster, and, perhaps, hang in a game or two longer. Winner: Stephens

Borna Coric vs. Jenson Brooksby

Power forehands and first-strike tennis: That’s mostly what we’ve seen around the grounds at the US Open over the first few days. But the Californian and the Croat go about things a little differently, and patiently. Both favor their backhands, and both are willing to rally for as long as it takes to win a point. Neither looks to blow the other guy off the court, mainly because neither can.

All of which should make this an intriguingly tactical war of attrition. Each has had his successes this season. Brooksby upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in Indian Wells and reached finals in Dallas and Atlanta. Coric, after recovering from shoulder surgery, mowed down a top-flight field, including Rafael Nadal, in Cincinnati two weeks ago. They’ve never played before, which means they’ll probably spend a lot of time poking, prodding, and testing each other out. Winner: Coric

Rafael Nadal vs. Fabio Fognini

Nadal-Fognini at the Open calls up some thrilling memories—as long as you’re not a Rafa fan. In 2015, Fognini played out of his gourd for just long enough to edge Nadal in a late-night five-setter that had Ashe roaring and gasping well past midnight. At the time, it almost felt like the Italian had the Spaniard’s number. Fognini had won three of four from Nadal, who was having something of a mid-career crisis.

Since then, though, the old hierarchy between the 22-time Grand slam champion and the notorious rogue actor has been restored. Starting later in 2015 in Beijing, Nadal has won eight of nine over Fognini. That includes five straight on hard courts. At 35, and ranked 60th, Fognini’s days of challenging the elite are mostly behind him. He hasn’t recorded a Top 10 win this year.

But he still has the right game to challenge and bother Nadal. Fognini has a two-hand backhand that he can take on the rise when Rafa rolls a forehand in that direction. His hands are deft enough the he can take just about any ball on the rise. And having beaten Nadal four times, he won’t be intimidated by him, and won’t have trouble believing he can do it again. Rafa started slowly in his first-round match; but he didn’t end that way. Winner: Nadal