Three to See, Day 2: Past US Open winners Osaka and Venus star alongside reigning champ Raducanu

Emma Raducanu vs. Alizé Cornet

Raducanu’s struggles since winning the US Open 12 months ago are well documented. She’s been injured, she’s switched coaches, she’s retired from a bunch of matches, and she’s just 13-15 in 2022. If the 19-year-old loses in the first round in New York, she’ll take a rankings-point hit that could send her out of the Top 90, and out of most main draws—the match has already been labeled a “rankings D-Day” by the ever-reliable British press. The one silver lining is that she’s coming off a fairly impressive performance in Cincinnati, where she beat Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka and recorded a 6-0 set each time. When Raducanu is good, she’s still very good.

The question now is: How good can she be against Cornet? At 32, playing in her record 63 straight major and 66th overall, with a varied repertoire of shots, the Frenchwoman is the walking definition of a wily veteran. She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and ended Iga Swiatek’s 37-match win streak at Wimbledon, yet she’s still ranked just 40th and unseeded in New York. So she’s had her own inconsistencies this season. Raducanu and Cornet have never played, but if the Brit can get back in her New York groove, and keep the talk of D-Day out of her mind, she has more game from the baseline than Cornet. Winner: Raducanu

Venus Williams vs. Alison van Uytvanck

Venus is ranked No. 570, and she’s 0-3 on the season. But it’s only fair and correct that the 42-year-old has been scheduled in Ashe for what could be her last match at the Open. She made her debut here the same year that the stadium made its debut, in 1997, and christened it with a run to the final as a 17-year-old.

Twenty-five years after shaking up the sport with that performance, Venus will be a sentimental fan favorite on Tuesday. The crowd may not be as loud as it was for her sister the night before, but they’ll do what they can to help. Van Uytvanck is 14 years younger than Venus and ranked 530 spots higher, but she’s not the worst opponent she could have faced. Van Uytvanck has been plagued by a back injury that has forced her to retire or withdraw from every event she’s tried to play since Wimbledon. We’ll see if the Belgian can post up and make it through this one. If she can, it could be a close one; close enough, perhaps, for the fans to pull Venus through one more time. Winner: V. Williams

Naomi Osaka vs. Danielle Collins

At first glance, this may not seem like an ideal first-round, night-match-in-Ashe opponent for Osaka, who has been searching for form and confidence. Collins made the Australian Open final this year, is seeded 19th, and should have a healthy section of the crowd on her side, despite Osaka’s celebrity status. At the same time, though, Osaka is 2-0 against Collins; one of those wins came in lopsided fashion in Miami earlier this year. And Collins may be searching for confidence herself at the moment. She lost in the second round at Roland Garros, the first round at Wimbledon, and missed Toronto and Cincinnati with a neck injury. All of which makes it seem like an ideal moment for Osaka to find a little of the game that has taken her to two US Open titles. Winner: Osaka