Two former No. 1s, including a five-time major champion, will face feisty dark horses with a trip to the second week of the US Open at stake.

Caroline Wozniacki versus Andrea Petkovic

Break out the popcorn because the third round has arrived, which means that the seeds are starting to collide.  The odds are fairly even as to which one of these two competitors will find herself in the second week of the year’s final major.  The slight edge though, would have to go to Wozniacki.  The Dane’s tennis game has slowly started to look more like the type of tennis that took her to the top of the sport, if not better.  She has been particularly sharp coming into the US Open.  Wozniacki reached the quarterfinals in Montréal and semifinals in Cincinnati, falling in both events to Serena Williams in three competitive sets each time.  After two semifinal showings and a trip to the final, the US Open has historically been her best major.

Of course, Andrea Petkovic has been no slouch this season either.  After achieving a career-high ranking of No. 9 a few years ago, the German saw her results and ranking plummet after enduring a series of frustrating injury setbacks.  It has been a long road back for Petkovic, but thanks to two tournament wins and other impressive results, such as a semifinal run at Roland Garros, she finds herself back in the top 20 and in the mix. 

With both feeling confident coming into the US Open, there will be little to choose between the two.  Petkovic is more at home on clay, but as someone who is unafraid of putting her forehand to work, she has a game that should translate well to hard courts.  Wozniacki will need to guard against becoming too passive and allowing Petkovic to use her big shots.  Wozniacki looks poised to avoid doing just that if her latest matches against Williams are any indication, however, as the Dane seems more committed to being more aggressive and proactive in rallies.  She also holds the edge in their head-to-head at 2-1, including a win at the US Open.  Couple that with her better form in the last few weeks, and that might just give her the added boost to get through this one.

Boost or no boost, Wozniacki will not be taking Petkovic lightly.  This could easily turn into a war of attrition between two women desperate to regain their former glory. 

Maria Sharapova versus Sabine Lisicki

Mary Carillo was often fond of using the term “Big Babe Tennis” to describe power tennis at its finest.  While Friday’s clash between Maria Sharapova and Sabine Lisicki may not strictly be “Big Babe Tennis” in its truest form, fans should still reasonably expect to see plenty of awe-inducing shot-making as these two women fight it out for a berth in the Round of 16.

Of the two, Maria Sharapova will definitely be the one who comes in guns blazing.  She is one of the biggest hitters in the game, and those blistering groundstrokes have already earned her three titles in 2014, including her second Roland Garros crown.  But Lisicki is not exactly lacking in the weapons department.  Her favorite shot is her lethal serve, and she certainly amped it up earlier this summer in Stanford, where she struck the hardest serve ever recorded by a woman at 131 mph.  She is also more than capable of holding her own from the baseline, particularly off of her forehand wing.

Unfortunately for Lisicki, she has struggled in the past when coming up against the Russian.  Sharapova leads their rivalry by a dominant 5-1 mark.  Additionally, all of their meetings have come at Premier events, the majors, or the Olympics, which means Sharapova has proven the better of the two at managing the pivotal moments on the sport’s biggest stages. 

As successful as Sharapova has been against Lisicki in the past however, the German should find some belief that things can be different this time around.  Sharapova has hardly looked unflappable lately.  She suffered an early exit in Montréal and an ugly loss in the semifinals of Cincinnati, and she has looked shaky in New York.  That said, she remains one of the best fighters in the sport, which makes her one of the toughest opponents to put away.  But if Lisicki’s serve is clicking, and she is able to use her variety and get to the net, she may be able to take Sharapova out of her comfort zone.  If she can do that and extract the unforced errors that seem to increasingly be coming off the Russian’s racquet, then Lisicki may very well grab a second win over the former world No. 1.

All of that said, Sharapova has to be considered the favorite to get through this match.  She has the dominant head-to-head, more firepower off the ground, and is one of, if not the, hardest competitor to put away.  But no one, especially Sharapova, should be quick to dismiss Lisicki.  She has played brilliantly on the lawns of Wimbledon and owns a game that should translate well to these hard courts.  There have already been a number of upsets this tournament, and Lisicki adding to that list would not be any more shocking than those that have already transpired.