Saturday 30 August 2014 16:03, UK
Andy Murray must return to his least favourite court in grand slam tennis for his third-round match against Andrey Kuznetsov at the US Open on Saturday.
While Arthur Ashe Stadium, where he impressively dispatched Matthias Bachinger in round two, ranks second only to Centre Court in Murray's affection, Louis Armstrong has been a place of unremitting struggle.
The good news for Murray is he usually wins in the end - a 2010 defeat by Stan Wawrinka not withstanding - but drama can normally be guaranteed on Flushing Meadows' second stage.
It was on Armstrong on Monday where Murray was hit by a severe bout of cramp during his match against Robin Haase that could easily have led to defeat.
The eighth seed will be back playing in the heat of the day on Saturday, although temperatures are not predicted to be quite as warm as in the first few days of the tournament.
Murray would have expected to play his old rival Fernando Verdasco but the Spaniard was upset by Russian Kuznetsov in five sets on Thursday.
Kuznetsov won the Wimbledon junior title in 2009 but it is not until this year that he has made an impression at the grand slams.
The 23-year-old, who is coached by his father Alexander, said: "It was pretty hard, I had some bad periods. In the beginning it seemed to be easy that I was going to go to the top 100.
"Finally I came to top 100 two years ago for the first time and then again this year. I have been working a lot and I hope that I will stay in the top 100 and will get better and better in my ranking and in my level of game."
Top seeds Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic are also in action on Saturday as they headline on Arthur Ashe – with Williams facing a third straight fellow American in the form of Varvara Lepchenko.
2011 champion Djokovic is also facing American opposition, with world No 57 Sam Querrey looking to give the top seed a match after his first two easy victories.
Popular Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, the seventh seed, faces off against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, while the night match sees Tommy Robredo playing exciting Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios.
John Isner is the highest-ranked American left in the men’s draw, and he faces a familiar foe in Philipp Kohlschreiber – as this is the third year in a row he’s faced the German in the third round. Isner has lost both previous matches.
