2010 U.S. Open Day 2: Who To Watch And Where To Watch Them

Live matches will be shown on the Tennis Channel from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., on ESPN2 from 1-11 p.m. and streaming starting at 1 on ESPN3 (all times East Coast). According to the official TV schedule, from 2-7 p.m. Tennis Channel coverage will only focus on courts 11 and/or 13. So if you’re interested in the big guns, ESPN2 is your best bet.

Here are a few matches worth checking out on a blazing hot Day 2:

11 a.m.

Grandstand, Jan Hajek (CZE) vs. No. 19 Mardy Fish (USA)

Fish dropped 30 pounds recently and thinks his svelte self can do some damage in Queens. He’s had a strong hardcourt season, which included beating his good friend Andy Roddick in the final at Cincy.

Grandstand, Coco Vandeweghe (USA) vs. Sabine Lisicki (GER)

All you Nuggets and Blazers fans out there: Coco is Kiki Vandeweghe’s niece.

Not before 1 p.m.

Arthur Ashe, Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs. No. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)

If Djokovic were a soccer player, he’d definitely be a notorious diver. The guy always looks like he’s in agony. Then again, he does do great impressions of fellow players, including Rafael Nadal, who really isn’t too fond of Djokovic.

Arthur Ashe, Jarmila Groth (AUS) vs. No. 14 Maria Sharapova (RUS)

Sharapova, who was born in the former Soviet Union but spent most of her childhood in Florida, recently visited Chernobyl. ESPN tagged along with the 2006 U.S. Open champ. It was actually a pretty interesting segment.

7 p.m.

Arthur Ashe, No. 1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

Interested in a detailed primer of Nadal’s game? Read S.L. Price’s May 2009 piece about Rafa:

Thanks to his remarkable racket speed and to advances in string technology, Rafa was eventually able to hit shots that rotated at an unprecedented 3,200 revolutions per minute (compared with Roger Federer’s 2,500), fell inside the lines and, most important, bounced like a frightened jackrabbit, high and away from the perfect player’s backhand. The stroke’s impact? Eric Hechtman, a hitting partner for both players, says returning Nadal’s forehand feels “like you’re breaking off your arm.”

Arthur Ashe, No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs. Chelsey Gullickson (USA)

Whatever you do, don’t call Wozniacki a soft No. 1 seed in front of the Yale football team. Apparently, the Bulldogs have been rooting for the 20-year-old Dane since 2008.

Click here to view the full schedule. For more tennis coverage, visit The Daily Forehand.