ESPN Coverage of U.S. OPEN Begins Today With First-Round Matchups

The all-ESPN US Open starts Monday, Aug. 29 - rain or shine thanks to the new retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium - with a slate full of intriguing first-round matchups, highlighted by a prime-time doubleheader headlined by top SEED and defending champion Novak Djokovic and highly regarded American No. 8 Madison Keys at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2:

• Defending champion Novak Djokovic who completed a career Grand Slam with a French Open victory in June will face 6'8" Jerzy Janowicz; they have never played. The 25-year old from Poland reached the 2013 Wimbledon semifinals and was soon ranked No. 14 in the world but hasn't played a top-level ATP event since losing in the first round of the Australian Open in January because of on-going knee issues.
• Two American women will square off - 21-year old Madison Keys and 26-year old Alison Riske. Keys is seeded No. 8 and recently cracked the top 10 in rankings for the first time. Originally from Illinois, her best New York finish was reaching the fourth round a year ago. Riske, originally from Pittsburgh, enjoyed her best Major result ever at the US Open in 2013, reaching the fourth round.

The top half of the men's draw and the bottom half of the women's field will play Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday; the other halves play Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday-Labor Day Monday.

ESPN2's live coverage of the opening Monday night will include the traditional Opening Night ceremony, highlighted by a performance from Arthur Ashe Stadium by the legendary Phil Collins in his first major public appearance in six years. For the ceremony, the Oscar winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will perform his debut solo single, "In the Air Tonight," which is the opening track on his forthcoming album, "The Singles," to be released in October along with the publication of his autobiography, "Not Dead Yet." Collins will also be joined by "Hamilton" star and Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr. for a duet. The Broadway star, a native of Queens, N.Y., will sing the national anthem.

Monday Daytime Highlighted by Two All-American Men's Matches, Kerber, Nadal and Puig

Play begins at 11 a.m. on WatchESPN where fans can choose what match they see, with three intriguing first-rounders among them:

• Last year's finalist (and Serena-conqueror) No. 7 Roberta Vinci vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany (on Ashe)
• 2014 US Open champ No. 7 Marin Cilic vs. Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil (on Armstrong)
• Two-time US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki vs. Taylor Townsend, the 20-year old lefty from Chicago (on Grandstand)

When ESPN comes on the air at 1 p.m., the new Grandstand Court will be in the spotlight with an intriguing battle of American men: 31-year old, 6'10 John Isner vs. Frances Tiafoe of College Park, Md., at 18 the youngest player in the draw. In another all-Amercan matchup later (not before 5 p.m. on Armstrong), No. 26 Jack Sock, a Nebraska native who came home from Rio with a bronze medal in Men's Doubles and a Gold Medal in Mixed Doubles plays Californian Taylor Fritz. In February in his first ATP match, the 18-year old defeated Steve Johnson, currently the top-ranked American.